The In Between Series 6 - The Time the Queen Captured the Pawn
by NeedtoKnow
Summary: Continuation of a Series of stories that fit "In Between" episodes that were aired so that things can be better explained/explored. This story is set in between "Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth" & "Service Above & Beyond" Lee & Amanda must protect a Russian Defector competing in a Chess Tournament while trying to stop a kidnapping & important papers from being sold. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 - The Cast

**Disclaimer - "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" are copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. This story is for entertainment only. I will not make any money off it but do hope that at least some people will enjoy it. The Characters are not mine; I only took them out to play with them for a while so they could help me tell the story. All the credit goes to Bruce and Kate and their wonderful supporting staff for portraying these wonderful characters so well that so many of us still love them so much today. The additional characters and this story are mine.**

 **A/N #1 – For those who are familiar with my In Between Series, you know that these are stories being told in between the aired stories of the show. Since I have made them meld into the series like they really existed, I will be using references from them in future stories. I don't think you need to read each of the stories in order to understand the story being told but hopefully you will read all of them anyway. Thanks again for all your support.**

 **A/N #2 - There were a lot of holes in "Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth." Due to time constraints, I'm sure we were left to imagine filling in those holes on our own so one of the things I like doing with this In Between Series is to fill in some of the holes. Since this one had so many, the "In Between" Story doesn't begin until Chapter 11. I hope you enjoy what I have done and that you enjoy the In Between Story as well. Thank you for reading my stories, thank you for the really nice reviews and thank you to those who have written to me privately. I'm enjoying writing this series and am glad that there are others who are enjoying reading them.**

 **A/N #3 - Since the Chess Hall does not exist, any stories that are told that supposedly took place there are not true either and were written just to add to the story taking place.**

 **AND NOW ON WITH OUR STORY: (Story will be completely posted before the end of the week)  
**

 **Chapter 1 -The Cast**

Amanda couldn't believe how much her leg still bothered her. She couldn't sleep at night; she found it hard to even walk. It really hurt a lot more than she thought it would. She had simply demonstrated to her Little Leaguers how to do the Hook Slide and she apparently slid the wrong way and hurt her ankle. The doctor had assured it that it wasn't broken but it sure felt like it was. He had felt that just keeping it wrapped would be enough but Amanda was having her doubts. She finally had no choice but to make an appointment and go back in. Dr. Nelson greeted her as he walked into the examining room "Hi Mrs. King. So I hear that your foot is still causing you some problems?"

"Yeah, Doc, it really is hurting a lot and I can't seem to get comfortable with it at night to sleep."

"Well let's take a look at it" He said as he sat on the rolling stool and slid over to where Amanda was sitting. He gently unwrapped it and noticed right away that her foot seemed to be more bruised than before.  
He began to chuckle. "I should have known that I couldn't get away with just wrapping the foot of a housewife. You are much too active for this foot to be just wrapped. I'm afraid we are going to have to put it in a cast."

"A cast? Really? You think that is really necessary?" Amanda asked.

"I do if you want your foot to heal." Dr. Nelson replied.

"Well maybe you are right. I do have our Neighborhood Thanksgiving Play this week and I'm going to be busy finishing decorating my house for it."

"Then definitely we need to secure this foot of yours in a cast. Dr. Nelson replied.

In no time, Amanda's foot was put into a cast and she was sent on her way.

When she arrived home, her mother was putting away some groceries that she had gotten for dinner.

"Hi Dear, how was your day? Wait, is your foot in a cast now?"

"Yes Mother. Apparently it is not mending well enough just being wrapped."

"Well darling, that is sure going to make it hard for you to go out with Dean on Friday. Doesn't he have some sort of dance he was going to take you to?"

"I know, I will have to cancel with him. I'm sure he will understand though."

"Yes, that's our Dean. He is just a pillar of understanding." Dotty said with a smile.

"Mother, I think I'm going to go rest now."

"Okay, I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Later on when the boys got home, they were excited to hear that their mother was in a cast. Phillip ran into her room and jumped on her bed while she was still sleeping.

"Phillip! Oh my gosh, you nearly scared me to death. What are you doing?"

"Grandma said that your foot was in a cast. Can I see?"

Jamie came running into her bedroom at that moment. "I want to see too" he squealed.

"Okay fellas. Just be gentle with your old Mother, okay?" Amanda uncovered her foot and let them see the cast.

"Whoa!" Phillip exclaimed. "That is so cool. All of that from a hook slide? Wait till the guys hear about this!"

"Well don't forget that we have your game tomorrow night against the Pirates so they will be seeing it soon enough." Amanda reminded him. "Now why don't you go downstairs and help your Grandmother set the table for dinner."

"Okay Mommy" Phillip and Jamie both said at once. They gave Amanda a hug and then ran down the stairs.

Amanda carefully made her way downstairs and just as she reached the kitchen, the phone rang.

"Hello!" She said into the line.

"Hello Mrs. King. This is Billy Melrose."

"Oh, hi Sir." Amanda glanced at her Mother who was busy mixing potatoes in a bowl and moved to the edge of the kitchen to try to avoid her hearing the conversation.

"I was wondering if you would be available for an assignment on Wednesday?"

"Well Sir, I would love to but I do need to talk to you about it first. Would it be okay to come in early Wednesday morning?"

"That would be fine. I'll see you in my office at, ummm, let's say 8:30am?"

"Thanks Sir, I'll see you then." Amanda replied.

"Amanda Dear, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were on the phone."

"I'm all done now Mother. What could I do to help?"

"We've got this, don't we fellas?" Dotty responded while looking at the boys. The boys nodded their heads and began setting the table.

The doorbell rang and Phillip ran to go answer the door. He soon came back with Dean behind him.

"Dean? What are you doing here?" Amanda asked.

"Well I heard from a certain little birdie that you hurt your foot. Are you okay? Amanda? Are you in a cast?"

"Yes, but it is okay. When I told Dr. Nelson that I was putting on the neighborhood Thanksgiving Play, he knew that my foot needed more reinforcement so he put it in a cast. I'm okay though."

Dotty said "Dean, it is so nice to see you. Will you stay for dinner?"

Dean said "Amanda, I think you need to reconsider resigning from managing the Little League team. We have talked about it before; it is just too much for you."

Amanda put a smile on her face and said "Dean now is not the time to talk about that but I'm not leaving the team. We have already discussed this and I decided that I would continue. Wow Mother, all that food looks great and I'm hungry, let's eat."

During dinner, Amanda asked the boys if they were ready for the Thanksgiving Play and Phillip teased Jamie about being nervous. "Shut up" Jamie said to Phillip. Amanda reminded Phillip not to tease his brother and then scolded Jamie that it wasn't nice to tell his brother to shut up.

Dotty asked Dean "So are we supposed to have good weather for Thanksgiving Dean? Any sign of snow?"

"Well Dotty, that's a bit in advance to tell right now but this next week should have nice weather." Dean answered as he smiled at Dotty. "I guess we won't be going to the dance though."

"Sorry Dean" Amanda said.

Dean helped clear off the dinner dishes and stood in the kitchen while Amanda washed them. The boys had gone up to play before bedtime and Dotty had left the two of them alone downstairs.

"Amanda, I really do think you need to slow down." Dean said. "Why don't you let the other parents take over Little League at least?"

"Dean, I don't want to do that. I enjoy managing Little League. Now can we talk about something else please?" Amanda insisted.

"Fine but I don't like it." Dean said as he watched Amanda finish doing the dishes.

Amanda smiled and said "You don't have to like it. You just have to respect my decisions, right?" She gave him a peck on the cheek and then pointed toward the living room. They sat down on the sofa together but Amanda really wasn't in the mood to have Dean there. After a few minutes, she stretched and yawned and said "I'm sorry Dean but I'm really tired. Can we cut tonight short?"

"Sure Amanda. I have to go home and do laundry anyway." Dean answered. He gave her a quick hug at the door and then he was gone.

Amanda watched him drive off and then closed the front door. After making sure the downstairs was locked up, she went upstairs to bed. Tomorrow was another day.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2 - The Pirates

**Chapter 2 - The Pirates**

The next day, Amanda woke up feeling rested. She was glad she had agreed to put her leg in a cast because it definitely allowed her enough comfort so she could finally get some sleep. She got up and went downstairs to fix breakfast for the boys. A short time later, they both came running down the stairs trying to outrace each other. "Whoa Fellas, slow down! One person in a cast is enough for this house." Amanda scolded.

"Gee Mom; it would be kinda cool to be in a cast with you." Phillip said.

"Well except you wouldn't be able to play any of your sports until your foot healed." Amanda reminded him.

Phillip agreed that he didn't want to be in a cast. They ate the cereal that Amanda had put out for them and then ran to greet the bus that was pulling up at the corner. Amanda watched them go until they were safely on the bus and then went inside and closed the front door. She decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies to take to the game that night. As she was mixing the cookie dough, she couldn't help but wonder what this new assignment was going to be. She couldn't believe that all of this stuff was happening and that the average person had no idea that any of it went on. She was very proud of herself for asking to be a part of the agency. It made her proud to be serving her country and hopefully she was making the world a little safer for her sons. She was still a little concerned about her safety though. When she first began working for the agency, she seemed to have been brought in only as someone to go with Lee to make his cover look convincing but lately, she had become more involved with the cases and she still hadn't been given any kind of training. She wondered if Mr. Melrose just didn't know what kind of training she wanted. She needed to let him know about her foot so maybe at the same time she would bring up the fact that she should know how to hit. Yes, that is what she would do. If he realized that she wanted to learn that, he would probably be more willing to arrange training for her.

In no time at all, the cookies had been baked and were on cooling racks. Amanda spent some time working with her dieffenbachia plant. She had been gone for so long to CT and her Mother had tried to take care of her plants but accidentally over watered this one. Amanda had been spending time getting rid of all the dead leaves and cutting back the stems in hopes of keeping it from rotting. She was determined to save her beloved plant. It had been a gift years ago from a dear friend as a thank you. Amanda hadn't wanted any thanks. She had simply been in the right place at the right time when a drunk driver swerved into the path of her friend's daughter and Amanda had scooped her up and thrown them both to the ground, out of the way of the car. The driver kept going but at least Amanda had saved the child. Later on, that family had moved out of the neighborhood but they still stayed in touch by writing letters. The plant was an extra reminder of that friendship.

Amanda remembered that she needed to go to the store before the boys came home. Phillip had a birthday party to attend on Saturday and she still hadn't bought a gift for him to bring. The party was for Alan who was one of Phillip's closest friends. Phillip had asked his Mother to get some Spokey Dokey's for Alan's BMX Bike. Phillip was so excited about the party that he had told his fellow Bomber Teammates that he couldn't make the game on Saturday. The Bombers had been on a bit of a losing streak so hearing that Phillip wouldn't be there, didn't help their morale but they were determined to do well without him. Tonight's game would be against the Pirates and since they were one of the worse teams in the league, the Bombers had a good shot of winning against them.

Amanda quickly went out and purchased the Spokey Dokey's from the Bike shop and then returned home in time to meet the boys so they could head to the game.

When they arrived at the ball field, all of the team came out to see how Amanda was doing. The last time they had seen her, she had been demonstrating the hook slide and didn't flex her leg like she was supposed to which caused her ankle to get mangled and that is the reason she found herself in a cast. The boys couldn't believe that she was now in a cast and there was a lot of excitement as they examined it. The boys all wanted to sign it but Amanda knew it wouldn't look professional at work so she told them that she would love to have them sign it but that her Mother would be angry with her if she did. Everyone there knew not to cross Dotty. Soon it was time to play ball and the boys were excited. In no time they were ahead and were able to keep ahead by 3 points most of the game. After the game, Amanda congratulated the team on pulling off a 26 - 15 win against the Pirates. They definitely needed this boost so Amanda was determined to keep encouraging them. She passed around the chocolate chip cookies with bottles of water and soon all the boys were busy eating and laughing as they recalled the good plays from the game. They all raised their water bottles and toasted each other and then agreed to keep up the good spirits as they faced Saturday's game. Amanda was happy to see her team be so supportive of each other.

It was soon time to go home and all the boys said good night to Amanda and her sons and headed off to where their parents were parked. Phillip and Jamie helped load the car with all the equipment and soon they were heading toward Maplewood Drive.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3 - The Royal Family

**Chapter 3 - The Royal Family**

Lee had been busy since he returned from CT. Billy had filled him in on a new case that had been developing for a while with Prince Reza and his wife Penelope. Their country was rich in oil and had become a valuable resource that many were trying to take control of. The Prince found himself in danger much of the time and just recently there had been an attack on both the Prince and his wife that had almost cost them their lives. The Security Department had been following the case for quite awhile and been in Paris to witness the hit on Prince Reza. They had taken many pictures of the crowd that day and each of the photos had been analyzed in hopes of determining who might have orchestrated the attack. Billy asked Lee to help with this analysis and to begin his own research. The US had been alerted that Princess Penelope had insisted on a return to the states. It had been 4 long years since she had been back and she really missed it. This meant that everyone had to be on high alert as there would likely be more attempts on their lives while they were on US soil and Billy knew that it was important to stop anything from going wrong. Lee spent many hours researching the back history of the royal family and analyzing the pictures but he had been unable to draw any conclusions on who was trying to kill them. There were several possibilities but nothing definite.

In the meantime, Princess Penelope had requested a tour of an average school but she wanted a real tour of it, not just some government official taking her through. Penelope had loved school so much as a child and had originally intended to be a teacher but in the end she met Reza and moved out of the States. Now she found herself in a country that was lacking a lot in their school systems and she really wanted to help change things for the better there. She was hoping that if she had a real PTA Mom show her around, she could get some ideas on how to make those changes. Lee and Billy had discussed it and they knew that they had the perfect person for this part. Billy told Lee that he would contact Amanda himself and ask her to help out. They decided to set it up for Wednesday so they could let the school know and make sure Amanda would be able to do it.

Early Wednesday morning, Lee put on a meeting between Billy, Francine and himself so that they could all share the information they had found out. Lee had to chuckle when Francine offered to pretend to be a normal PTA mom. Even Francine was not that good at pretending and he knew the Princess would see through her in a heartbeat. No, this was definitely one of those times that it was good they had enlisted Amanda's help. Of course Francine hadn't taken it well knowing that Amanda was being called in while she was being sidelined but she would have to get over it.

When Amanda arrived and walked in with the cast, Lee's heart dropped. He had kept her safe the whole time they were in CT and then she came back and managed to get hurt while demonstrating a baseball play. He had never been able to be a part of a Little League team growing up so he had no idea it could cause an injury like that. He was glad when she said that it wasn't anything serious. Then she shocked them all by asking to be taught how to hit. What? That was crazy. Amanda didn't need to know how to hit. She was just a civilian. There wasn't any reason for Amanda to know how to hit. After all, she was only assigned to cases with him and he would continue to watch out for her. She wasn't willing to drop it though and stopped all their arguments when she mentioned that she didn't think staying alive should compromise her usefulness too much. Billy agreed to set her up for the next self defense course that would be starting in a couple of weeks. Amanda was pleased that she would finally get some training. She had been right when she realized she needed to specify what kind of training she thought she needed and now she would finally get some.

Lee couldn't resist teasing Amanda about not needing to know how to hit when she met the Royal couple. Not only did the man have the worse manners, but he also enjoyed teasing her way too much. She was sure that someday she would get him back for it and maybe enjoy doing so.

When Amanda first met Penelope, she was awed to be standing next to royalty. She soon realized that she was just a woman and one that had a lot to deal with. Amanda liked Penelope almost immediately and could tell that Penelope liked her also. She enjoyed showing Penelope around the school. The kids were all so excited to meet her and eagerly showed her various projects they were working on and artwork that was posted. Penelope had never felt so welcomed before. It was a bit overwhelming though and soon she found herself tiring. She asked to be excused and went to the ladies room. When Amanda entered the facility to check on Penelope, she wasn't expecting Penelope to talk about her frustrations with being a Princess. Penelope really trusted Amanda though and it was nice to have someone to talk to. She begged Amanda to come to the Embassy Reception. Amanda told her how she was very busy with the Neighborhood Thanksgiving Play but Penelope looked so sad that Amanda agreed to attend. Penelope promised that Amanda would be back in plenty of time for the play. They heard Lee saying something about the Princess being given a Baby Buffalo at 4pm. Amanda looked at Penelope and giggled. "What in the world are you going to do with a Baby Buffalo?"

Penelope joined her in laughing and said "It's all for show. We are going to a Native American Tribal event and they will present me with this Buffalo as a sign of peace and I give it back to them to show respect."

"Oh, the poor baby Buffalo." Amanda said. Penelope agreed.

"Amanda, do you have any orange lip gloss. I left mine out in the limo"

"No, I just have pink but you can borrow some." The ladies had just begun to freshen up their makeup when Lee burst into the bathroom. Thinking fast, Amanda asked him if he had any orange lip gloss. The look on Lee's face helped make up for the teasing he had done about her knowing how to hit. The ladies exited the bathroom together with Lee right behind them. Penelope thanked Amanda again for a lovely time touring the school and the two ladies hugged and began walking back to their vehicles. Amanda had a million things to do if she was going to be ready for her neighbors to attend the play at her house tomorrow night plus now she had the party to attend and she had no idea what she could find to wear. She definitely had a lot to do before the embassy party.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4 - Cow Pie

**Chapter 4 - Cow Pie**

It was turning out to be a long day for Lee. He had thought that having Amanda give the school tour to the Princess would make things easier but he should have known better. Amanda seemed to attract trouble. It really wasn't her fault that the Princess went into the bathroom and wouldn't come out though. He thought that when he sent Amanda in after the Princess, that she would convince her Highness to come out instead of playing dress up with her. Lee wasn't sure what he would find when he busted in the door to save the Princess but he sure didn't expect to be asked if he had any orange lip gloss. He could see the twinkle in Amanda's eyes though and knew she had just gotten him back for teasing her about wanting to know how to hit.

Amanda's job was done and he sent her on her way. Lee, on the other hand, still had much work to do. He hustled the Prince and Princess into their limo and guided them to The National Pow Wow in D.C. It was a huge event for the Native Americans and since Penelope had some Sioux blood in her, she really wanted to attend. When it was arranged for her to be there, the Native Americans expressed their desire to present her with a Baby Buffalo. She agreed to accept it only if she could gift it back to them. They had agreed and so it was set up to take place at 4pm. They had to hurry a bit to make it back to D.C. in time but the limos pulled onto the grounds at 3:45pm. The Prince and Princess rushed to the stage where the gifting would take place while Lee and the Prince's security men followed closely behind. While they were all waiting for Chief Lone Wolf to appear, one of the Braves came out with the buffalo. He was a young boy and soon realized that he couldn't hold onto the buffalo so he gave the rope to Lee and ran off. "How do I always manage to get stuck in these type of situations" Lee wondered to himself as the Buffalo began eating his tie. Lee pulled his tie out of the Buffalo's mouth and then found that his leg had become a scratching post as the Buffalo used it to rub his head against. For being just a baby, Lee found that it was pretty strong and he was having a hard time standing up as the Buffalo continued to scratch his head on first Lee's knee and then he worked his way up to Lee's butt. Lee tried to get him to stop but he was really enjoying a good head scratch. Finally the Chief came out and the ceremony began. Everyone was very impressed with the whole event and after the Buffalo had been gifted and returned, one of the Braves came out to take possession of it. As it walked by Lee, it suddenly stopped beside him, lifted its tail and dumped a cow pie on to Lee's shoe before moving on. Lee rolled his eyes heavenward and asked "Why me?"

Princess Penelope couldn't help but smile at what had happened. The Braves nearby had grabbed some cloths and were cleaning off Lee's shoes. The Chief came over and said "Son, you are a very blessed man to have a Buffalo do that to you. Great things are in your destiny. Believe it." He then did a short blessing and gave Lee a feather and congratulated him for being the chosen one. Lee just wanted the day to be over. The Prince and Princess visited with several of the tribes before it was determined that Penelope was tired and needed to go back to the hotel. They thanked everyone for their hospitality and soon were on their way. Lee escorted them to their hotel room and then left Agents Alberts and Mendel in charge of security for the night.

Lee headed for home but along the way, he wondered how Amanda was doing. She had to do a lot of walking today and she had handled it like a trouper. He soon found his Porsche making its way over to Maplewood Drive. He parked a couple of blocks away and then made his way quietly to the back yard. As he walked through Amanda's garden, he could hear Dotty and Amanda talking in the kitchen.

"I can't believe the PTA picked you to show a Princess around Amanda. Why Darling, that is just wonderful. I do hope I get to meet her. I just love Royalty. I have always dreamed of meeting Princess Di."

"I don't know Mother. I don't think they will be here for more than a day or two. I'm going to be awfully busy with the play we are putting on here."

"Do you think she would like to come to the play? Oh, Amanda, you should ask her!"

Amanda smiled at her Mother's eagerness and said "We'll see."

Since Dotty was there, Lee knew he wouldn't be able to talk to Amanda and she seemed to be walking around fine so he decided he should leave. He drove back to his lonely apartment. Tomorrow would be the Embassy Reception and he would have to be on his toes so he needed his sleep. Hopefully things would go a little smoother than they had today.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5 - We Lost the Princess

**Chapter 5 - We Lost the Princess**

Amanda wished that she didn't have a cast on her foot but otherwise, she surveyed herself in the mirror while wearing the low cut black dress that her son Jamie had suggested that she wear to the Embassy Reception. That son of hers was going to be a great husband someday. She really loved this dress and it looked good on her. Her Mother had insisted she wear a shawl over it but once she left the house, she took it off. The dress wasn't that low cut and Amanda felt perfectly comfortable in it. Amanda found herself soon in line with a lot of limos as she entered the grounds where the party was taking place. Her poor little Station Wagon seemed a little out of place with all the limos surrounding it but she didn't mind. When she drove up to the man who was checking the guest list, Lee suddenly appeared and told her it was a closed party. Amanda definitely enjoyed listening to Lee as he rambled on about how her assignment had ended. It had been fun telling him that she was invited and watching his face as it showed a mixture of disbelief and amazement until the man told her to drive on ahead. She couldn't help but smile at Lee as she told him she had to go without saying goodbye. This getting even thing was working out pretty good in the end. Just as she was getting out of the car, she heard gunshots. Everyone was told to get down and a few minutes later she learned that someone had tried to shoot the Prince and Princess but that Lee had saved them. The security guard escorted Amanda into the Reception area and Amanda limped over to a spot near the stairs so she could lean against something if she needed to. She soon realized how boring it was to be at a party by herself and couldn't help but wonder if Lee liked doing these kinds of events by himself. She realized that he was usually busy though so he probably didn't care as much. Amanda kept herself busy by watching the Prince and Princess as they made their rounds. Then suddenly, Lee passed in front of her and went onto the stairs. She couldn't resist teasing him about them letting him into the party. After all, he might have saved the Prince and Princess but he didn't stop the would be assassin. He didn't seem to find her humor funny though and told her not to look at him. This spy business was really strange. What difference did it really matter if she looked at him or not. She couldn't help but think that anyone would notice that she seemed to be talking to no one if they were observing her so wouldn't that be just as suspicious? Lee was a good agent and he probably had done this a lot so she didn't question him but it did seem silly to her. Then it happened; something she didn't think would ever happen; he called her "one of us." It was the best feeling to be part of the team. Oh, she knew he hadn't meant to say it that way, but he couldn't take it back and he knew it. He warned her to keep an eye on Princess Penelope and to report to him about any Political Enemies or anyone that they should be aware of. Then he just took off on her. Someday she hoped to have a chat with his mother about his manners.

The Princess came up at that moment and introduced her husband to Amanda and then Bo Johnson interrupted all of them. Amanda was sure that Bo Johnson was one of her Mother's favorite Western stars but Princess Penelope sure didn't like him. When Bo got Reza to go talk shop with him, Princess Penelope began stewing because she knew he was trying to convince Reza into giving up more of his countries' resources. Amanda reminded the Princess that she needed to get home for the play and Penelope asked if she could go too. Amanda didn't know if that was such a good idea and suggested that Penelope talk to her husband.

"No Amanda, he will be busy with Bo Johnson for awhile. I don't need to tell anyone. I get tired of having the security ruin everything I do. I'll be perfectly safe with you. Come on, let's go. I'm not taking no for an answer." The Princess put her arm through Amanda's and they walked out to wait for the valet to get Amanda's car. On the ride to Amanda's, they had more of a chance to talk.

"So how does a woman from New Hampshire manage to meet a Prince anyway?" Amanda asked.

Penelope laughed and said "It is a funny story. I had never been out of New Hampshire my whole life. All my family has lived in New Hampshire and Vermont and none of them really like to travel. I went through 4 years of college and got my Bachelor's Degree in Business. I had really wanted to be a teacher but my guidance councilor had talked me out of it due to the lack of jobs. So I settled for a business degree. I graduated in 1975 and had gone to work in an office in Manchester, New Hampshire. Our office was a community liaison among several foreign embassies. It wasn't long before I found myself going to embassy parties and meeting many high ranking officials from different countries. During one of the parties, there was this man who came up to me and asked me to dance. He was so nice, sweet, and soft spoken that I liked him immediately. Reza had a way about him that was unlike any other man I had ever met. I had no idea he was a Prince. He swept me off my feet that night and I knew I had to see him again. He made several trips back to the states just to see me and then finally one night; he told me that he was the Prince of Zakir. I was blown away. No one had bothered to tell me, I guess they all thought I knew. By that time, I knew I was in love with him so when he asked me to marry him 8 months later, I said yes. We got married in the summer of 1979 in Zakir. None of my family came to the wedding and I haven't been home since."

"That's kinda sad" Amanda said. "I can't imagine just leaving my whole family for a man. In fact, my ex-husband left us for another country."

"He didn't!?" Penelope asked.

"Yes, Joe's life has been about charity work and when he was offered a job in Africa, he chose to take it instead of staying with us."

"How did you handle that?"

"Well it wasn't easy but we have done okay. The boys get letters from him now and then and he tries to call on holidays. He hasn't been home since the divorce about a year ago."

"I'm sorry Amanda." Penelope said. "I do talk to my family on the phone and I hope to come home some day soon and visit everyone but I can't do that right now. My marriage has suffered a lot over Bo Johnson and these oil contracts. Reza and I argue a lot about it. I suppose I should just let him give the contracts to Bo and stop the conflicts but it is my country now too and I hate seeing Bo destroy it. He is just such a snake. He doesn't care about anything but money and Reza can't see that."

"Well hopefully you can both come to an agreement on it. I would hate for you to lose your marriage over Bo Johnson." Amanda said.

"Amanda, it is so good to have someone to talk to. You don't know how long it has been since I have had a friend. Women in Zakir are jealous of me for marrying the Prince. I'm still a bit of an outsider though they are beginning to warm up to me. I really like you and I love talking to you." Princess Penelope said.

"I like you too. Of course I'm your friend." Amanda said.

"Good, so please come with me to Bo Johnson's Ranch this weekend. He is having a big celebration for Reza so of course we have to go. I hate the thought of being there alone. Please say you will come with me?"

"I don't know Penny. I have a lot to do this weekend with the boys. Of course I'm also in this silly cast which makes it hard to get around and you know, I have a horrible allergy to horses."

"Well at least think about it. Don't give me your answer yet. I would love to spend more time with you and it would be nice to have a friend there."

"Okay, I'll think about it. Well here we are at my house. Let's go in and see if we can get this play underway."

Penelope really enjoyed being with Amanda and her family and the play was so cute. She could tell how proud Amanda was of her two sons and she hoped that one day, she and Reza could have children. They hadn't talked much about children since there was so much conflict going on and they would have to worry about a child's safety but one day, she hoped all that would change. Right in the middle of the play, suddenly there was a disturbance and Penelope's security team came in and interrupted the play. Penelope was so embarrassed and felt so bad that once again, she couldn't enjoy something without it being ruined. She couldn't apologize to Amanda enough.

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Lee arrived early at the Embassy to make sure everything was secure. His agents were in place along the route that the cars would be using to arrive. He had arranged for a couple of agents to act as valets so that they could check out each of the guests as they were arriving and ensure that there weren't any hidden passengers in the cars. Everything was going smoothly and then suddenly he stared in disbelief. What in the world was Amanda doing there? He didn't even know she knew about the party but he must have mentioned it to her and she thought she was supposed to attend. He went to her window and tried to tell her that it was a closed party but she just stared at him with that smile of hers as she informed him that she had been invited. Invited? The Princess had invited her? How was it possible that she was able to accomplish something that most agents would never have been able to do so quickly? He didn't have long to think about though because Penelope and Reza had come out to meet an important Diplomat that had just arrived and suddenly Lee heard a commotion from a bunch of Pigeons on a rooftop nearby. He realized immediately that there was a gunman on the roof and was able to push Penelope and Reza down onto the ground and protect them from the gunfire. He chased after the gunman but couldn't stop him after he got in his car and drove away. Lee tried to convince the Prince to end the party but Reza was way too stubborn and refused to bow to these "fanatics" as he called them.

As the Prince and Princess began making their rounds at the party, Lee noticed Amanda standing nearby. He couldn't help but notice how amazing she looked in her black dress but he didn't tell her that. Instead, he decided to play spy with her. As she turned to look at him, he told her not to. After all, someone might realize that they knew each other and it was important for Amanda to stay undercover. Of course he couldn't believe he actually told her that he didn't want the Princess to know that Amanda was working with them or as he said it; she was "one of us." That one comment was going to haunt him for awhile, he was sure of it. Amanda gloated about the comment for only a moment and then changed the subject to the fact that the Prince and Princess were still having the party and were out and about with their guests after someone had just tried to kill them. Since Amanda had obviously made an impression on the Princess, Lee suggested that she needed to be the ears on this one and observe whether there was anyone to be concerned about. He hated to admit that she had gotten closer than him but he was smart enough to use it to his advantage. It was important to keep Amanda on her toes though so he suddenly just left while she was still talking.  
Lee went out to check on his other agents. He needed to make sure that everyone stayed sharp since there had already been one assassination attempt that day. After making sure everything was okay, Lee called Billy to update him on what was going on. Lee told Billy about the unique position that Amanda was in and Billy was thrilled. "That's our Amanda. That woman can make friends with a toad." Billy said with a touch of gloat in his voice.

"Yeah." Lee responded. "Listen Billy, did we find out anything more about who the guy on the roof was? Maybe we need to have Francine investigate it."

"I'm already on it. I assigned it to Francine just a little while ago." Billy said.

"Great! I'm sure she will find something. She always does."

At that moment, Agent Dane interrupted Lee's phone call. "Lee, we have some trouble."

"What's wrong?" Lee asked.

"No one knows where the Princess is." Agent Dane responded.

Through the phone, Lee heard Billy lose his temper "What are you people doing there? You are SUPPOSED to be watching her. I warned all of you that she takes off and doesn't tell anyone. NOW find her."

"Relax Billy. I'm sure she is with Amanda. I gave Amanda strict instructions to keep an eye on her. You are the one who keeps saying how great Amanda is doing. Hopefully she listened to me this time." Lee said.

Lee hung up the phone and went looking for Amanda. After searching the grounds and not finding her, he had no choice but to go ask the Prince if he knew where the Princess was. The Prince was not alone though and Lee was introduced to Bo Johnson. He hated admitting they had lost the Princess in front of this Johnson character but he had no choice. After making sure that the Prince didn't know where Penelope was, Lee called down to the Agents who were acting as valets and asked them if they had seen either the Princess or Amanda. They said that Amanda had requested her car be brought up and then the Princess had gotten into the car with Amanda and they had left the party together. Lee thanked the agents for the information and rushed back to tell the Prince that Penelope was safe with Amanda. He remembered Dotty and Amanda talking about a play when he was at the house last night and Lee suggested that Penelope decided to go watch it with Amanda. Prince Reza sent his own men to find Penelope and told Lee not to leave the party as the Prince was likely in more danger than the Princess. He soon got word that the Princess was at Amanda's and that everything was secure.

The rest of the Embassy party was peaceful and Lee was thankful once the Prince and Princess had been reunited and delivered back to their hotel room. The Prince had informed Lee that Bo Johnson had invited him and Penelope out to his Ranch so they would be leaving on Saturday morning to go there and would need to make sure the agents were coming along. Lee assured him that they would have the ranch protected and asked if it would be okay to dispatch a couple of agents tomorrow to begin securing the place. Prince Reza said he would check with Bo but he didn't think it would be a problem. Lee called Billy to begin the arrangements.

Lee was so happy to finally get back to his apartment. He settled on his sofa with a glass of Scotch to unwind from the day. He noticed that it was just after 7pm so he picked up the phone and called Amanda's house.

"What are you doing?" He asked when she picked up the phone.

"Do you ever say hello when you call or is it just me that you have such rude phone manners with?"

"Why do I need to say hello? I just saw you a few hours ago. Can you talk?"

"Yes, Mother and the boys are upstairs. Why are you calling me?"

"What the hell happened today? One minute I'm telling you to keep your ears and eyes open to protect the Princess and the next minute, she disappears with you. Do you have any idea how worried everyone was when she just disappeared?"

"I'm sorry. I asked her if she needed to let anyone know where she was and she insisted she didn't. She really wanted to get away from there since she was still shaken from the assassination attempt. She also wanted to get away from Bo Johnson."

"Bo Johnson? Why?"

"She says he is a snake."

"What does that mean?" Lee asked.

"I'm not sure. She didn't elaborate; she just called him a snake."

"Okay, well I think we should meet so we can talk about all of this further. Can you get away tomorrow morning? Meet me on the footbridge in Rock Creek Park at 10am tomorrow."

"Okay, I have to get some groceries so I'll go do that first. I'll see you at 10am. Goodnight Lee." Amanda hung up the phone. She knew that Lee was upset with her for not telling him that Penelope was with her. She hoped that he wouldn't stay upset with her though because he was just starting to ask her to help him out with his cases and she didn't want to blow it. She would have to explain to him tomorrow just how persistent Penelope was and why she had no choice but to let her come along. She just knew that once he heard her explanation, he wouldn't be upset with her anymore. She just needed to explain it to him.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6 - The Ranch

**Chapter 6 - The Ranch**

 **A/N - Even I can't explain how come Amanda doesn't have a cast on her foot and is suddenly running over the bridge; so we'll just pretend that part of the scene didn't happen.**

Lee couldn't believe it. Amanda was invited to the ranch by the Princess without even asking. It was truly amazing to him that she constantly obtained things and didn't even have a clue how valuable those things were. He had to talk her into accepting the invitation but Lee knew what to say to Amanda to get her to cooperate. He might not want a partner but if he did, Amanda might actually make a decent one. Wait, did he really just think that? Surely not a Suburban Housewife. Well he certainly had no plans to tell her any of that. He was relieved that she was going to be there though. The Princess didn't like having security all around her so Amanda would be able to help keep her safe which in turn would make Lee's job easier.

Lee was disappointed that his meeting with Parker hadn't gone as planned but it just proved that someone didn't like that he was getting closer to the truth. After the agency showed up to look for evidence, Lee headed home but along the way decided to stop at a bar to have a drink. As he sat on his bar stool nursing his glass of Scotch, a woman came up behind him and rubbed against him while purring in his ear "Lee, it has been forever, where have you been?"

Lee turned around to face her and said "Roxi! It has been a long time. How is Hank? Wasn't that his name? You know; the guy you dropped me for?"

"Oh Lee, don't tell me you are still holding a grudge against me for that! I told you at the time, he had a huge bankroll and offered to take me to Vegas. You were always too busy. I just used him to have a good time."

"Yeah." Lee said. "Kinda like the way you used me to get into the party where you met him, huh?"

"My, my, you really are holding a grudge. Well why don't we go back to your place and I can see about making it up to you." Roxi purred again in Lee's ear.

"Yeah, well I don't think so. I'm not into being leftovers."

"Tsk tsk Lee, it's too bad. I was looking forward to giving you one of my specialty massages." Roxi purred.

"Thanks but like I said, I'll pass. See you around."

Roxi couldn't believe that Lee turned her down. She immediately took a look around the bar and walked over to a good looking guy who was sitting by himself in the corner. Lee shook his head and wondered what he had ever seen in her. She was good in bed, but that was about all she was good for. He paid the bartender and headed out to his car. Tomorrow was going to be another long day trying to keep the Prince and Princess safe so he might as well go home and get some sleep. He sure didn't need any complications like Roxi making it so he was awake all night.

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Amanda had been relieved that Lee wasn't too angry with her about Princess Penelope coming to watch the Play at Amanda's house. Instead he seemed impressed that she had invited Amanda to go to Bo Johnson's ranch for the weekend. Amanda really didn't think she should go because she really did have a full weekend but she had started to really like Penny and when Lee reminded her that the Princess could become a widow and be treated horribly, she realized that as a friend, she couldn't say no. Amanda just hoped that she didn't lose her dieffenbachia plant while she was gone.

After the meeting with Lee ended, Amanda rushed home and called Princess Penelope to tell her that she would go with her to Bo Johnson's ranch. The Princess was over the top excited that Amanda would be coming and thanked her. Amanda then called a couple of the parents from her Little League group and let them know that something had come up and that she wouldn't be there on Saturday. Amanda packed her bags and made sure to put in some allergy medicine in case she had to be near the horses. By the time her Mother came home, Amanda had everything under control and was ready to leave Arlington for a few days. When she told her Mother that the Princess had invited her to the ranch, Dotty was so excited for her. She then became jealous when she realized it was Bo Johnson's ranch. Sometimes that daughter of hers had the best luck. Dotty promised to leave Amanda's plants alone this weekend and Amanda took care of their needs before she left.

The Prince, Princess and Amanda flew into the private air strip on Bo Johnson's on Saturday afternoon. The Princess told Amanda to make herself at home and that she would find her later on. Amanda decided to walk around the ranch and observe the other guests there. They all seemed nice enough and Amanda didn't get any bad vibes from any of them. Later she met back up with the Prince and Princess who showed her more formally around the ranch. The Princess was very quiet while with her husband so Amanda kept the conversation very light. Soon it was chow time and they all went to find what they wanted to eat. Amanda didn't notice Lee when she sat down. She just enjoyed having a view of the pool and the house. Suddenly she heard Lee's voice and turned around to see what he said and got scolded again for looking at him. Amanda didn't know if she would ever get used to all these spy games. She especially didn't know if she would ever get used to all the death that came with them as she learned of Parker's demise. As Lee was leaving her, Princess Penelope had brought her chili over to Amanda's table and remarked on how cute Lee was. When Amanda realized that Penelope was trying to set her up, she blushed and said that his line of work was too dangerous. After all, he had just seen a man die. The Princess teased her that dangerous could be fun and Amanda reminded her that dangerous could also be dangerous. Amanda realized that she constantly put herself at risk being in this line of work and wondered again what made her stay instead of walking away from it. She knew that Billy was happy with her clerical work and she could just ask to do that but she also knew that she would be bored if she wasn't allowed out in the field with Lee. For a second though, she wondered if she should consider not putting herself in that kind of danger but soon Bo began singing and Amanda found herself trying to look like she was enjoying it. She could clearly see that someone else had done the singing on his Western Shows because the man had an awful voice. Amanda had promised to support Penelope that weekend though so she stood beside her as Bo sang. They quietly whispered funny things about it back and forth which helped them both get through the song. Amanda could sense that the Princess was figuring out a way to escape the scene when suddenly Bo announced that he had a gift for her and a beautiful white Arabian Horse was ridden out and presented to her. Amanda couldn't help but think that Bo was hoping to buy off the Princess with such a gift but Penelope was thrilled to get him.

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Lee had arrived at Bo Johnson's ranch and immediately went into agent mode. After making sure all his agents had secured the property, Lee then double checked everything. The Prince had a lot of his own security around but Lee didn't find that they were very thorough with making sure that the Prince and Princess were safe so he wasn't taking any chances. Finally after checking over every inch of the ranch, Lee was satisfied that everything was in fact secure and he went back to the group and helped himself to a bowl of Chili. Lee didn't cook often but when he did, he believed in cooking good food. Since Chili was a food from Texas, he expected it would be amazing so he had helped himself to a large bowl of it and then couldn't believe how tasteless it was. He noticed that Amanda had sat down in front of him so he told her that his chili was better but she apparently didn't hear him and looked around at him. He reminded her not to look at him and then made sure she understood that there was danger involved in this mission since Parker got blown away. It would be impossible for Lee to be with Amanda the whole time; he needed to make sure she was keeping an eye out for trouble. He knew it was a lot to ask of her but he also knew that he had to at least warn her. As he saw the Princess approaching, Lee got up and left. He found his way back out to the stables and was looking at the beautiful horses that were in their stalls. As he neared a white Arabian, one of the ranch hands asked him "Isn't he beautiful? I would love to have this horse. Apparently Bo just recently purchased him. He has some special plans for him. Anyway, is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, I was just looking. This is really a beautiful horse for sure. Any idea what Bo's plans are for him?" Lee asked the ranch hand.

"No, I don't usually get told too much. I just heard a rumor that this horse was being gifted but I don't know to who."

"Okay, thanks." Lee said. Lee went back outside the barn and stood off to the side watching the guests. A short while later, he noticed that white Arabian had been saddled and was being ridden out to the middle of the guests. Lee quickly walked to where the excitement was and watched Bo present the Princess with the horse. He couldn't help but notice Bo's right hand man, Earl walking out from the shadows. Something didn't seem right with that man. Lee had a feeling that he better keep an eye on him. He needed to figure out this puzzle soon though, very soon.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7 - OHHH HOOO

**Chapter 7 - OH HO HO HO**

Amanda and Penelope were enjoying spending time together and Penelope was thrilled to finally have a friend who she could talk to about her frustrations with her husband and his dealings with Bo Johnson. Amanda seemed to understand and was such a calming force. It was soon hard for Amanda to remember that this was a case as she had really had grown quite fond of Penelope. When she had confessed to Amanda that her sexual relationship with her husband was very lacking these days, it reminded Amanda of her marriage. She had loved Joe with all her heart and had tried so many times to keep the marriage from falling apart. In her case, she only let it go when Joe refused to give up his job and stay home with her and the boys. She knew that Penelope could still save her marriage since Reza seemed very devoted to her. So while talking to Penelope, Amanda told her about how she would use a sexy nightgown to sometimes get the spark going in her own marriage. When Penelope mentioned that she didn't pack a sexy nightgown, Amanda smiled and said it could better without one. As they were sharing a chuckle over the joke, Lee suddenly appeared in the large bedroom window. Amanda was shocked that after he told her to be discreet, that suddenly he popped up right in front of Penelope. It didn't take long for Penelope to jump to the conclusion that the two of them were having an affair. She decided to leave the two hot lovers alone and head for bed. Amanda was really upset with Lee because she had been doing a good job of bonding with Penelope and now she had to let Penelope assume something that wasn't true so she wouldn't blow her cover. One minute Lee was worried about keeping that cover and the next minute; he did something dumb like popping up outside her window in the middle of the night.

Lee had been patiently waiting for awhile for Penelope to leave Amanda's room. He had been hiding in the bushes outside for over an hour while sipping on a glass of scotch. When he noticed that it was 10pm, he figured the coast must be clear so he got up and started to motion to Amanda to let him in but instead discovered that Amanda wasn't alone. He ducked back down in hopes that Penelope didn't spot him. He knew that Amanda had seen him so she would find a reason that Penelope needed to leave her alone. He waited several minutes and then looked again and found Amanda by herself. She motioned for him to come in. The scotch definitely had an affect on him as he opened up the window wide and made an entrance into her room. He was soon put in his place though as Amanda scolded him for almost ruining her cover. The Princess had apparently jumped to the conclusion that there was an Ohhhhh Hoooo, thing going on between them. Lee wasn't used to all those type of code words so he gave Amanda a confused look and asked what that meant. She stated that the Princess thought he was cute and when he smiled and said he was, Amanda immediately said he "Wasn't that cute." Lee decided that his news was too important to start an argument with Mrs. King so he just started telling her about what he had found out about Bo Johnson. Amanda was impressed with the information and then added her own from what she had gotten from Penelope. They spent the next half hour comparing notes and then Lee reminded Amanda again to be careful because Bo was definitely a dangerous man who wanted those oil leases and he wouldn't let anyone get in the way of that. After spending so much time away with Amanda, it seemed strange to be not staying in the next room to her and he was a little concerned about her safety. At 11pm, he noticed that she was yawning quite a bit though and decided that he had no choice but to leave her alone. He made sure she locked up after him and then walked down to the barns to do one final check. He checked on the Agents assigned to the area and found that everything had been quiet so he told them he was going to get some sleep. On the way back to his room, he noticed that Amanda's light was still on. He couldn't help but smile that the Princess thought they were having an affair. Amanda was definitely growing on him but she was still not his type and she certainly was not one to have just an affair; she couldn't even say the word after all. No, the Princess wasn't even close with her assessment. Lee headed back to his room and laid down on his cot to get some sleep. It took awhile to finally fall asleep because he couldn't help but think about Bo Johnson and wonder what he had planned to get the Oil Leases from Reza.

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"She thinks you're cute" Amanda had repeated the Princess's words to Lee. He had promptly responded back "I am cute" and Amanda without missing a beat said "Not that cute." He was though. Amanda couldn't believe how attractive Lee was. She hadn't totally lied to Penelope though when she said she could never get involved with anyone in that line of work. She definitely couldn't get involved with Lee. He frustrated her in the best of times, was rude to her other times and his playboy ways were way beyond anything she had ever had to deal with. No, Lee Stetson was definitely out of her league. But, he was cute. She just wasn't going to let his ego hear her admit it. Around midnight, she finally got her mind to stop racing enough so she could sleep. She knew it would be a long day if she didn't sleep soon since she had agreed to meet the Prince and Princess for breakfast at 7am. She couldn't help but wonder if Lee ever had trouble getting to sleep. Living this secret life sure wasn't easy some days.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8 - G-Woman

**Chapter 8 - G - Woman**

Amanda got up early to do her morning stretches before meeting the Prince and Princess for breakfast. Afterward she headed to the pool area where breakfast was being served. As she walked to the buffet table, she couldn't help but notice Lee was standing nearby keeping an eye on the royal couple. She made sure that she didn't acknowledge him in any way. She was soon greeted by Penelope who winked at her as she asked "So Amanda; how was your night? Did you sleep okay or was it too hot in your room for sleeping?"

Amanda blushed and said "No Penelope, it wasn't what you are thinking. He had thought he saw someone outside my window and wanted to know if I had seen who it was. He was just concerned that they were trying to harm you or the Prince."

Amanda couldn't believe that she was able to lie so easily. Penelope apparently bought the story because she decided to drop the subject and soon the 3 of them were talking about the ranch and horses. Amanda explained that every since she was a little girl, she had realized that she had a horrible allergy to horses. She had always wanted a pony as a child and had begged her Mother for one. Her Mother had finally agreed to sign Amanda up for some riding classes but after only a few minutes, Amanda had broken out from head to toe and could barely breathe. Luckily the instructor recognized that it was an allergy immediately and brought her back to the house where he administered some medications that brought her breathing back to normal and stopped her from being really sick. Since that time, she loved horses from afar but never wanted anything more to do with them. Penelope frowned and said it was too bad because she planned to go riding that morning and really wished that Amanda could come along. Reza suggested that Penelope go by herself as he had several business meetings to attend and wouldn't be available much of the day. Amanda offered to walk Penelope over to the barn while she got her horse ready. She explained that she had taken her allergy meds so she should be okay to be around horses in limited doses. Penelope welcomed the company and told her so. Little did Amanda know that Bo Johnson would try to sabotage her by telling Penelope that Amanda was a G-man or rather a G-Woman. Amanda wanted to explode and say some things that she normally wouldn't say to this despicable man but she instead just told him that she wasn't a G-Man and hurried to try to catch Penelope. "Oh My Gosh" Amanda thought "How did this happen?" She had really grown fond of Penelope and she sure didn't want to hurt her feelings. She knew she had to figure out a way to catch up to her and explain to her that she was only a civilian working at the agency and that she had come to the ranch as a friend but that she was worried about her safety too so she was only helping Mr. Stetson by giving him information about Bo Johnson. She would never betray Penny's trust with her secrets and she needed to make sure she knew that. When she asked for a horse and was told only El Diablo was available, she didn't even think about how silly it was for her to get onto such a spirited animal. She only knew she had to find Penny and explain things to her. It couldn't be that hard to ride a horse could it? After nearly killing herself just getting into the saddle, she asked for the direction Penelope took and then got El Diablo to head that way. It was only after the horse began galloping that she realized she forgot to ask where the brakes were. Amanda could only hope this horse stopped before it crashed into something. El Diablo took off in a very fast gallop and that was the only reason she was able to catch up to Penelope so quickly. When Amanda saw her up ahead, she tried to tell El Diablo to stop but he wasn't listening. Thankfully Penelope was able to stop the horse. Amanda rambled as she tried to explain the situation between Lee Stetson and herself and suddenly Penelope said that it was okay. She understood. Lee and Amanda were having an affair. "What? Oh my Gosh" Amanda thought. "Should I correct her or let her think that so at least she isn't mad at me?" In the end, she decided to let Penelope draw her own conclusions. She knew that as much as it wasn't true, she would have to use it as her cover and play along. Now she just wanted to get back to the ranch and not have to look at a horse again. Penelope insisted that she ride her horse back and that he was very gentle. Amanda was a little nervous but he did seem much more gentle than El Diablo and with Penelope's help, what could go wrong?

TBC


	9. Chapter 9 - Goodbyes Are So Hard

**Chapter 9 - Goodbyes are so Hard**

Lee couldn't believe how careless he had been when exiting the bunkhouse. He should have been on alert so that Earl couldn't have sucker punched him but instead now he found himself a hostage and in Bo Johnson's possession. His blood ran cold when Bo told him that the Prince was never in any danger and that it was the Princess all along. He could only hope that Amanda was not with the Princess. He had warned her many times to be careful but he wasn't sure she would realize that she was in this kind of danger. He had to get free and go get them both to safety. He waited for the right time, knowing that Earl was an idiot and would be easy to take down if Lee could distract him. When he kicked the boards up, it was exactly what he needed for a distraction and soon it was just a fist fight between the two of them. When Lee got too close to the windows of the house, Earl hit him in the jaw and Lee found himself crashing through the windows. He hit the ground and ran for the jeep parked outside. Lee didn't even have to hot wire it because Earl stupidly left the keys in it. Lee had gotten Earl to admit that Bo intended to kill the Princess by somehow getting the horse near a ledge so that she would fall off the cliff. He could tell by listening to Earl that the ledge had been doctored to ensure that the horse and Princess fell off the cliff. Lee drove the jeep to the cliffs as fast as he could go and soon saw two women on horseback. He decided to cut in front of them and try to cut off the horses but as he got to the cliff's edge, he realized he had lost the brakes on the vehicle and couldn't stop it so he jumped out. He then found himself right in the path of the horse and he had to blink twice when he realized Amanda was the rider. Penelope helped Lee get the horse to calm down and then got Amanda off it. She couldn't even put together a sentence as she used hand motions to describe the jeep cutting in front of her and dropping off the cliff. Lee would have given her a hug to calm her down if they had been alone but since Penelope was there, they just stood there while Amanda put herself back together again. Since there were only 2 horses and 3 of them, they decided to just walk back to the ranch.

Along the way, Lee explained to Penelope about Bo and Earl and how she had been the target. "I should have known that Bo would do something like that to get rid of me" Penelope said.

"Yes, but it didn't work. Now Reza will have to see who the real Bo Johnson is and agree with you about the oil leases." Amanda gently told Penelope.

"Maybe we can finally work on putting our relationship back together." Penelope sighed deeply.

"Princess, I wish you and your husband all the best." Lee said as they began walking toward the ranch house. "I have to go alert my men so we can round them up."

"Thank you Mr. Stetson. I really do appreciate everything you have done and for saving Amanda's life too." Penelope told Lee.

Lee smiled and said "Just part of my job, Ma'am." Lee walked away and was soon greeted by a couple of agents. "I still think he is cute." Penelope told Amanda.

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It didn't take long for the agents to round up Bo Johnson and Earl. Earl was found in the bunkhouse packing his stuff to make his getaway. After a short fist fight between Agent Dane and Earl; Earl soon found himself in handcuffs and heading to jail.

Bo was caught about 10 miles from the ranch in his truck heading to the airport when an agency helicopter spotted him and alerted the local authorities who were able to arrest him without incident.

Reza and Penelope were thrilled to hear the news. Reza promised to sit down with Penelope soon and discuss together what would happen to the oil leases but in the meantime, suggested that they go to Disneyworld to enjoy some vacation time together and find their romance again. Penelope smiled and said that she would love that. In the meantime, Reza told her that he had a long discussion with Bo Johnson's daughter and she had agreed to take over ownership of the Ranch. She had promised to make sure the White Stallion was well taken care of and would always be waiting for Penelope if and when she chose to come back since the Royal couple would always be welcomed there.

Penelope gave her horse a kiss goodbye. He was really a sweet horse and it was too bad that Bo had tried to kill her on him. She wished she could bring him back to Zakir with her but of course that was impossible. She realized that she was stalling though and needed to move forward. Penelope really hated saying goodbye to Amanda. She didn't know if she had ever had anyone in her life that meant more to her in such a short time. They promised to keep in touch and Penelope held back the tears as she hugged her friend goodbye. She couldn't help but tease Amanda one last time about Lee Stetson but as she drove away with Reza and watched the two of them standing side by side, she hoped to hear one day about their wedding. Amanda could deny things all she wanted but there was definitely a spark between the two of them that maybe just hadn't quite gotten enough gas yet. It gave her hope for reigniting that same spark with her husband. Penelope allowed a few tears to flow as they drove toward the airport. Reza looked at his beautiful wife and asked "Are you okay?"

"Oh yes, I'm just going to miss Amanda."

"You really grew quite fond of her didn't you?" He asked.

"Yes, I did. She's a good woman and a good friend."

"Then we shall have her come for a visit soon." Reza said.

"Oh Reza, I would love that. Thank you."

"Anything for you, my Darling. Anything for you." Reza said as he brought his wife's hand to his mouth and kissed it. Penelope smiled through her tears and thought "Thank you Amanda. I think maybe I will buy a sexy nightgown once we get to Florida."

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As Lee and Amanda waved goodbye to the Prince and Princess, Lee reminded Amanda that the Princess thought he was cute. Without missing a beat, Amanda told him that the Princess was under a lot of stress. He scolded her again about not looking at him while they were still playing their covers. He asked Amanda if the Princess knew that she was working with them and Amanda said that she did not. Lee asked her what story she had told the Princess and she said that the Princess came up with her own story. The Princess felt they were having a thing. "A thing?" Lee asked and then remembered that Amanda didn't like saying the word affair. She then instructed him "Eyes straight ahead Scarecrow." Lee couldn't help but chuckle. Amanda didn't often call him Scarecrow and he found it cute that she did now after saying they were having a thing. Some days it was really fun working with this woman. Some days he couldn't help but think she might make a decent agent someday. This was definitely one of those days.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10 - Catching Up

**Chapter 10 - Catching Up**

The trip home to Arlington was uneventful. The agency arranged for Agent Dane to drive Amanda home. Lee stayed behind to finish up the loose ends of the case and then he would need to head back to the agency for debriefing.

Amanda couldn't help but smile at the thought that Penelope was convinced she was involved with Lee. The woman was obviously a hopeless romantic. Amanda really hoped that Reza and Penelope put aside some time for themselves now. They were such a cute couple and she fully intended to stay in touch with her. Maybe some day she would get news that Penelope was expecting.

The conversation with Agent Dane was light as he drove her back home. He was a very nice man and seemed very impressed with Lee Stetson. He confessed that he was jealous that Amanda had become Lee's partner.

"Oh no, I'm not really his partner" Amanda said. "Mr. Melrose just sends me out on assignments now and then with him. I'm not an agent though."

"Well you still get to work with him. He is a great man. I don't know anyone who is a better agent than Lee. Some day I hope to be like him. I once heard that he was tortured for days by a KGB informant and they couldn't get anything out of him. I'm not sure I could do that. We are taught to withstand torture but you never know if you can do it until you are forced to. Lee Stetson is one of the best."

Amanda smiled and thought about whether she would be able to handle someone torturing her. The difference was that she wouldn't have any of the answers anyway so torturing her wouldn't do anyone any good. She was always under a "Need to Know" and she was always told she didn't need to.

They found themselves pulling up to Amanda's house in no time and Amanda thanked the agent for the ride as she pulled her suitcase out of the back seat. He offered to carry it for her but she told him that she was fine.

Amanda yelled a cheery "Hello" as she walked in through the front door and soon her Mother came rushing out to greet her.

"Oh Amanda, you are home. Oh, I can't wait to hear all about your time with the Princess. Did you see Bo Johnson? Did he agree to sign an autograph for me? Was everyone dressed up elegantly? Oh, what did the Princess wear? Did you take your camera? Did you take any pictures with your camera?" Dotty rambled on and on.

"Slow down Mother" Amanda chuckled. "Let me put my bag upstairs and then we can have a cup of tea together and I'll tell you all about my weekend."

"Okay, Darling. I'm sorry, it is just so exciting that you, AMANDA KING, got to spend a weekend with royalty. I can't wait to tell that old nosy Edna. She is always making up stories about things that she has done and can never prove that she did any of them. You just wait till I tell her that my daughter spent a weekend with a real Princess." Dotty headed to the kitchen to put a kettle on for the tea while Amanda stood looking after her. She shook her head as she let out another chuckle and then took her suitcase upstairs.

After Amanda had unpacked and freshened up, she headed back downstairs to have tea with her Mother. As her Mother poured the water into cups, she said "Now tell me all about it. Don't leave anything out."

"Oh Mother, there really isn't that much to tell. I'm afraid your idol Bo Johnson was arrested."

"WHAT? Arrested for what? Well we should go to the police station and see if there is anything we can do. This is an outrage. That man is perfectly innocent." Dotty proclaimed.

"No Mother, he isn't. He tried to kill the Princess and he almost killed me instead." Amanda then told her Mother as much as she could about Bo Johnson and his plans to kill Penelope on the white Arabian. Dotty sat and listened with a look of amazement throughout the whole story. When Amanda was finished; Dotty said "I can't believe that. Imagine Bo Johnson being such a horrible man. Such a waste. Well I guess I will stick with my Cary Grant. At least I know he wouldn't try to kill a Princess." Dotty got up and cleared away their cups. "I think my dear after almost being killed, you deserve a special dinner. I think I will go to the market and get some roast beef and make your favorite"

"Roast Beef and Succotash" Amanda and Dotty said at the same time. "Sounds wonderful, Mother" Amanda said. "I think I will finish hanging up the Thanksgiving Decorations. Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than 3 weeks away? Where did this year go?"

"I don't know dear. By this time next year, hopefully you and Dean will be happily married and we will have even more to be thankful for."

"Oh Mother, I don't know about that." Amanda said wondering how Dean entered the conversation. Dean! She hadn't even thought about Dean the whole time she was away. Amanda realized that she should call him and tell him that she was back in town but she decided that she would do that tomorrow. Today, she just wanted to enjoy being with her family and not be pressured by Dean to marry him.

"Amanda dear, we are only given so many opportunities to find our true loves. Now I know at the time, you thought Joe was yours but now that you realize that it wasn't meant to be, you have to grasp that brass ring when it presents itself. Dean is a good man. Don't let a good man get away. Men don't have much patience and they sure don't have the patience to wait for love. Just remember that."

Amanda sighed and thought "If you really love someone, you have to have patience. If you really love someone, they should be worth being patient for." If Dean wasn't patient in waiting for her, she wasn't sure he really loved her. She knew she didn't really love him. She cared about Dean very much. He was a nice man and he had helped her through the divorce and was a good role model for the boys. She just wasn't in love with Dean. There was a difference.

"Yes Mother, I will remember that." Amanda responded to her Mother so the subject could be dropped.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11 - The Defector

**Chapter 11 - The Defector**

Lee finished his debriefing about Bo Johnson and then went to Billy's office. He knocked on the door and Billy motioned for him to come in and have a seat.

"So I heard that Amanda did a wonderful job this weekend" Billy said.

Lee began chuckling "She is something Billy. The Princess totally loved her and Amanda was able to stay on top of things the whole time because of it. She needs to work on being a bit more discrete but overall, I guess she did a pretty good job. She had the Princess convinced that she wasn't one of us in any case."

"How did she do that?" Billy asked.

"She let the Princess believe that Amanda and I were lovers. Can you imagine that?" Lee asked.

Billy smiled and shrugged and decided not to say anything. He quickly changed the subject and said "Well Scarecrow, I wish you could take some time off and rest but you know how it is around here. We already have another problem that seems to be growing bigger by the minute and I need you on this new case."

"Okay, Billy, I guess I wasn't expecting any time off. What's going on now?" Lee asked.

"Have you ever heard of Maurice Stevens?" Billy asked?

"No, I don't believe the name sounds familiar." Lee responded.

"If I asked you if you had heard of Victor Volkov, would that be different?" Billy asked.

"Sure, I remember Victor. I helped him defect when the Russians sent him on an assignment to Istanbul. He just happens to be a former KGB Agent who helped us tremendously in determining other KGB agents within the CIA organization. Why do you ask?"

"Victor took the identity of Maurice shortly after defecting. We have kept him safe and life has been a happy one for him but now he is feeling bored. He is demanding to compete in the World's Chess Tournament. We owe him so much for all the information he gave to us and helping us get several moles removed from the CIA so we have no choice but to try to protect him."

"Do you think the KGB will be looking for him at a simple Chess tournament?" Lee sarcastically asked.

"This is no simple tournament. This is an event that countries from all over come to compete in and expect to win. Maurice looks different now than he did when you saw him last. Of course he is older but he also grew a beard and has long hair. However, the KGB knows that he has a real passion for Chess because he used to compete locally in Russia. They have never forgiven him for the treason he committed against them and they will be out for revenge. If they get any indication of who he is, we could lose him in minutes."

"So let me guess, I'm going to have to be this man's bodyguard during this aren't I? Awww, Billy, why can't someone else do this one? It sounds boring." Lee begged.

"Lee, this man has made a lot of friends in this country. Some very important friends, I might add. One of those people just happens to be President Reagan. I don't think I have to tell you that when Mr. President asks this agency for a special favor, we don't ever say no, do I?"

Lee sighed. "No, we definitely do not. Okay, what do you want me to do?"

"Well this tournament has three stages and this is only the first step. They compete to see who will go on to the semifinals and then to the finals. If he makes the semifinals, I promise I will assign a new agent to the case."

"Great! Is that a promise?" Lee asked.

"Guaranteed promise" Billy answered. "In the meantime, you will soon see that he is not an easy man to deal with. Since he does have so many important "friends" watching his back, his ego has grown quite large so I think you need some help on keeping him in line."

"Great, so Francine can ..."

"No, not Francine" Billy said with a gleam in his eye.

Lee looked at Billy and saw the twinkle there and said "No Billy! You can't possibly think this is a good idea. What do you think Amanda is going to be able to do? He'll see through her in no time."

"I think that Mrs. King is going to do what she does best; charm his socks off." Billy said as he grinned.

"Yes, but what difference does that make? How is that keeping him safe?" Lee asked.

"Well as much as he wants protection, he also rebels against it. If he finds Mrs. King charming to be around, he might make security an easier job to fulfill. Do you want to call her or should I?"

Lee grumbled "I'll call her but I don't like this. She's not equipped for this type of assignment Billy."

"Oh, on the contrary, I think she has all the tools she needs" Billy said as he winked at Lee.

"That's not funny Billy. Amanda isn't that type of woman. If you want that kind of woman, you need to ask Francine to do this." Lee scolded.

"Oh, I don't think Amanda needs to be any type of woman in order for Maurice to be interested in her. I think that will all happen naturally." Billy said with a chuckle.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12 - Window Knocking

**Chapter 12 - Window Knocking**

Amanda was happy to be home and back to doing her normal routines. After dinner, she had sent the boys upstairs to work on their homework while her Mother had gone to the Living room to enjoy her current romance novel. Amanda couldn't wait to finish the dishes so she could get settled with her own romance novel. She had just gotten to the chapter where Victoria Greenich's husband had been captured and placed in a tower to await execution. Amanda couldn't wait to read further to see how Victoria was going to come to her husband's rescue. She hadn't been able to read much since the agency had kept her so busy lately but she really wasn't complaining.

At this moment, her priority was the sink full of dirty dishes that needed to be cleaned. Suddenly she thought she heard a tapping noise. It took a minute to realize that someone was tapping on her kitchen window. It startled her until she realized it was Lee. She looked to make sure her family was still busy and then quietly went out the back door. "What are you doing here?" Amanda asked.

"Well you know how much I hate talking on the phone so I figured I would just come over." Lee explained.

"Lee, you can't just come over here. What if Mother or the boys saw you?" Amanda scolded.

"Oh I have been waiting to make sure the coast is clear. Remember I was the one who suggested that you not tell them anything about me so I will never put you in a situation to explain why I'm here. Believe me Amanda; it is for both our best interests to stay discrete. Besides, don't forget, I'm a spy. I'm used to sneaking around." Lee said with a wink.

Amanda laughed and said "Okay, I believe you. You didn't answer my question though, why are you here?"

"Billy asked me to contact you. He wants you to help out with a security assignment if you feel up to it." Lee said as he kept an eye on her to judge her reaction.

"We just got home and I still haven't had those training lessons that Mr. Melrose promised me." Amanda reminded him.

"Well I can just tell Billy that you said no. I'm sure Francine will do it instead."

"Now wait a minute. I didn't say no, Lee. I was just talking out loud. What exactly will I have to do?" Amanda asked.

"A really simple assignment. You just have to pretend to be a girlfriend of a man who is competing in a chess tournament so that you can be my eyes and ears."

"Who is this man and why is he important to the agency?" Amanda asked.

"This man's name is now Maurice but about 5 years ago, he defected from the Soviet Union. I helped him while he was on a trip to Istanbul. He's been in this country since that time and has enjoyed the luxury of making many very influential friends. Now he is bored and wants a new challenge so he intends to compete in the world's Chess Tournament and put himself at risk of the Russians recognizing him. I think the whole idea is stupid but the man isn't going to listen to me. So as a favor to President Reagan, the agency has been asked to provide security for him. Since the preliminary games to determine semi-finalists of the tournament are in D.C., I pulled the short straw to start that security detail."

Amanda looked confused and asked "So why do you need me?"

Lee stared at her for a second before replying and then said "Well apparently the man wants to be safe but doesn't like security people being too near him. Billy felt that you might be able to change his mind and let you stay with him since you seem to have a way with charming people."

Amanda smiled and asked "Mr. Melrose said that about me?"

"Yes, I believe his exact words were that you could charm a toad."

"Okay, I'll do it" Amanda said.

"So if you need some time to think about it, you can take time tonight and then call me early tomorrow." Lee started

"I'll do it." Amanda repeated.

"I can't let you have any more time than that to think about it as we still have to work something out so you can meet him and….. "

"LEE! I said I would do it." Amanda repeated again.

"You will?"

"Yes, I will. When do we start?" Amanda asked.

"Okay, meet me in front of Ford's Theater at 9am tomorrow. Maurice doesn't live far from there and he has agreed to meet with us."

"Okay, I'll see you at 9am tomorrow. Can you find your way back out of here?" Amanda asked.

Lee smiled and showed his dimples as he said "I think I can manage."

As Amanda watched him go, she couldn't help but be excited that she got to work with him again. Penny was right, he was kind of cute.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13 - Bad Feelings

**Chapter 13 - Bad Feelings**

Lee went home to his empty apartment. He played his answering machine when he arrived and heard this message "Meow Lee, this is Cece. I haven't heard from you in a while. I don't work in the Steno Pool anymore. I got a job at Honeycutt Typewriters a few weeks ago. I know you said that you didn't think we should see each other since I worked at the agency so I got a different job so we could date again. I would love to see you. Call me!"

The machine beeped off as Lee sighed. Cece was definitely a tiger. He had used the excuse about not dating her anymore due to the ties to the agency because the last time she was at his place, she had first handcuffed him to the bed and then she had proceeded to pull out a whip and some other materials that scared the hell out of him. He wasn't sure how much further she would have taken it if they hadn't been interrupted by Billy knocking on his door. It was definitely not his kind of thing and he was a little afraid of her so he lied in hopes that it would solve the problem. Lee realized that he really needed to change his phone number soon.

He poured himself a tumbler of Scotch and sat down on his couch to relax. This next assignment was a little unnerving because he didn't know how well Amanda would be able to deal with a man who would be pushy and arrogant. It sounded like Maurice was all of those things. He was Russian too and they had a habit of being a little rough with their women or so Lee had been told. He was going to have to be on complete alert during this assignment to make sure Amanda stayed safe. He just wished that the man liked a real sport like football. Chess was so boring.

Lee finally fell asleep on the couch just after midnight while lost in his thoughts. It seemed like a few short hours later his alarm was going off. Lee got up and showered and then dressed in a comfortable suit for his meeting with Amanda and Maurice. He drove to the area near the Ford Theater and found a parking garage to safely park the Porsche. He then walked the distance to the theater where he found Amanda waiting for him.

As he watched Amanda limping along in her cast he asked "How much longer do you have to wear the cast?"

Amanda answered "I talked to the Doctor and he said that I should be able to have it removed in about a week but that he will give me a brace that I can use at night so I can sleep and if I'm too active during the day. It is a real pain to have to wear this so I'm really looking forward to getting rid of it."

"I'll bet. Well here we are. This is where Maurice is currently living." Lee said as he pushed #25 on the intercom.

"What do you want?" a gruff sounding voice said through the intercom system. Lee glanced at Amanda to see her reaction and saw her roll her eyes at him.

"It's Lee and Amanda to see Maurice" Lee stated.

Without answering, they suddenly heard the door's lock buzzer sound off. Lee grabbed the door and held it open for Amanda to go through. He put his hand on her back as he guided her to Maurice's apartment. Lee knocked on the outside door and they heard "Yeah, come in!" from inside.

Amanda walked in first followed closely by Lee and found a cute little studio apartment before them. Maurice was sitting on the couch watching the news on his TV. "Well come in and sit down!" Maurice said.

Lee guided Amanda into the little apartment and she sat down in the chair that was beside the couch while Lee leaned on the back of it.

"So you are the hot shot agent who has been assigned to protect me? Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Sir, I was the one that got you out of Istanbul."

"Oh, I thought you looked familiar. Who is the lovely lady with you? Is this your wife?" Maurice asked.

"No, she is a civilian who helps us out now and then. We thought it might be good for you to have a "girlfriend" to cheer you on during the event. She can keep her eyes out for any trouble. Meanwhile, I will be walking around the whole time and be nearby in case I'm needed."

"I suppose that might work. After all, Amanda; I can call you Amanda can't I?" Maurice started "Oh yes, please do" Amanda answered.

"Well as I was saying, Amanda, you are a beautiful woman. I would be honored to have you as my girlfriend and cheerleader during the tournament. Maybe you will enjoy continuing on after the tournament too. I'm pretty good with the ladies I've been told." Before Amanda can reply, Lee says "She has a boyfriend Maurice so hands off." Amanda looked at Lee with curiosity since normally he didn't acknowledge Dean She wondered if he would remember his name if she asked him.

Amanda smiled at Maurice and explained "Yes, I have been dating a man for several months now. This arrangement with you would just be a temporary one so to help keep you safe. You understand that I'm sure Maurice."

"Oh, my dear, maybe you will want to give up that boyfriend of yours once you spend some time with me. I've never had anyone complain so far."

Lee thought about asking why Maurice didn't have a girlfriend now then but decided to stay professional. "Okay, well we just wanted to drop in and make sure you were okay with the arrangements. Amanda will be by tomorrow at noon to pick you up for your first game which I believe starts at 3pm?" Lee wanted to confirm.

"Yes, that is correct. We can go over to the Chess Hall and I'll treat us to lunch and we can get more acquainted my dear before my game." Maurice offered.

Amanda smiled and said "That sounds like a good plan. I'll see you tomorrow at noon."

Lee guided Amanda out of the apartment and they began walking back to the Theater.

"That man makes my skin crawl" Lee said.

"He didn't seem too bad" Amanda replied.

"Well you just be careful around him" Lee warned Amanda.

"I will but you said it would be safe. Are you changing your mind?"

"No, I will make sure it is safe. What I mean is that I'll be there so if I see anything fishy, I will get you out of there."

"I'll be fine Lee. I'll see you tomorrow. Will you already be there when we arrive or are you escorting us over?"

"No, I will see you there." Lee said. "You are under cover so I don't want anyone to know that we know each other."

Amanda hobbled to where she had parked her car and got in. For the first time, she realized that Lee seemed to be showing some signs of jealousy. She couldn't help but wonder if he had shown this emotion previously and she just hadn't paid attention to it or if this was new. She couldn't help but wonder if she was mistaken because he sure had made it clear that she was out of his league and she knew that it was true so there was no reason for him to be jealous of anything she did. She would have to keep an eye on him to see if she could figure it out.

SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK

Lee went home and began pacing in his apartment. When he had rescued Victor and brought him to the safety in the States, Victor had seemed like a nice guy. He had been extremely friendly and very appreciative of everything that was being done for him. How did so much change in 5 years? Something just didn't seem right about him. He didn't look the same, that was true but he sure didn't act the same either. Did the agency work with him to change his behavior along with his looks? This was the type of man that could eat Amanda alive and not think twice about it. She was way out of her league on this one and Lee knew it. He had to stop this before it got out of hand. He soon found himself driving to Arlington. It was just past 8pm so the house was pretty quiet on Maplewood Drive. Lee noticed that Amanda's bedroom light was on but the downstairs lights were all off except the kitchen light. Someone would need to come down to turn the light off so he crept into the back yard and waited. It took a little over an hour for Amanda to finally come down the stairs. She was preparing to pour herself a glass of milk when she heard a tapping noise and looked up to see Lee in her kitchen window. She put the milk away and set the glass on the counter and rushed out the back door. "Lee? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What are you doing here?

"Amanda, I've been thinking. I don't think it is a good idea for you to continue this assignment. I think Francine should take over."

"Lee! That's not fair. You can't ask me to do an assignment and then just take it away from me. I can handle this."

Lee began pacing while raking his hand through his hair.

"Amanda, something isn't right about this man. I barely recognize him from the man I rescued in Istanbul."

"Well he's not supposed to be able to be recognized, right?"

"No, I don't mean his looks. I mean his actions, his personality. Everything. He was much nicer 5 years ago." Lee insisted.

"Oh Lee, he probably has a lot of anger due to being separated from everything and everyone. You can't blame him. It must have been hard for him to leave all his friends and family behind."

"Yeah, Maybe" Lee said as he raked his hand through his hair again. "Something isn't adding up though."

"Lee, he is expecting me to be there. If we change things now, he could get upset."

Lee began pacing in Amanda's back yard. After a few minutes, he stopped and stood facing her. "Okay, we continue as planned but Amanda, you have to stay on your toes for this one. Any sign of trouble and I want you out of there. Understood?!"

"Yes, Lee, I understand. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me continue the assignment."

"Oh yeah, right." Lee said "Okay, well I guess I'll head home. Get some sleep. You will need it."

Amanda smiled and said "You too."

After one last look at her, Lee turned and headed back to the Porsche. He sure wished he knew why all of this didn't feel right to him.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14 - 1, 2, 3 - GO!

**Chapter 14 - 1,2,3 - GO!**

Amanda arrived at Maurice's apartment about 15 minutes before noon. When she buzzed the intercom and announced herself, he said he would be right out. A few minutes later Maurice emerged. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He immediately checked Amanda over from head to toe which made her feel very uncomfortable being ogled that way. She broke his stare by asking if he was ready to go. He extended his arm to her and she slipped hers into it. Amanda guided Maurice to her car and he insisted on driving to the Chess hall. They managed to arrive in one piece and after giving the car up to the valet, Maurice guided Amanda inside. Maurice was ushered to a table that had been set up to check in all the competitors. After signing in, he was assigned number 44 as his identification and was informed that the game would begin promptly at 3pm but that he had plenty of time to walk around and visit the food booths if he wished.

Amanda and Maurice both agreed that they were hungry and found a vender who had fresh salads. After purchasing their lunches, they made their way to some tables that had been set up for eating. They sat down and Maurice asked "So Amanda, tell me a little about yourself."

"Sure, I'm a housewife who has two small boys at home, Phillip and Jamie; along with my Mother who lives with us. I manage the boys Little League team, help out with the Junior Trailblazers, volunteer on the PTA, help with my Church's charity drives, and various other charity functions. I'm just your typical boring housewife." Amanda offered.

"My dear, you are not boring. You do manage to say a lot without taking a breath though. That is remarkable. So where is Mr. King?"

"Well, Mr. King decided to provide his services out of the country so I'm actually divorced" Amanda admitted as she blushed.

"I can't believe how stupid the man is. I also can't believe that no one else has snapped you up."

"Oh, well as Lee said yesterday, I do have a boyfriend. He's been a great support to me since the divorce."

"Lucky him" Maurice said with some contempt. "Maybe you will realize that you have better alternatives by the end of the week." Maurice rubbed his hand up Amanda's leg as he spoke.

Amanda stopped it from reaching any further while putting on a fake smile and said "Dean is a good man. I have no need for alternatives. Please be careful where your hands wander Mr. Stevens."

Maurice apologized and dropped the subject and soon the conversation turned to the boys. Normally Amanda liked bragging about her sons but something didn't seem right about Maurice so she limited what she told him. They had gotten up after lunch and walked around so that Maurice could settle his nerves and check out some of his competition. Amanda noticed that he seemed to be known by a lot of people. Since he was a defector, she was a little surprised that he had called so much attention to himself over the years. Some of the people that stopped to talk to him were from other countries too which really surprised her. She decided she needed to let Lee know about that later.

The time finally moved forward and soon everyone was being called to the front so they could get final instructions before the competition began. Amanda took a seat off to the side where they had set up an observation area for friends and family. She began scanning the crowd to see if she could spot Lee. It would make her feel better if she knew he was nearby even though there had been no sign of trouble so far. She looked for several minutes with no luck at spotting him and finally decided that he must be using a great cover.

All of the players took seats according to their numbers. The even numbers played an odd number so #1 played against #2, #3 played against #4 and so on. Maurice found himself playing against a woman who was #43. Amanda noticed that she was a young girl who barely looked 18 and had long blonde hair. The woman wore long dangling earrings and was dressed in very short shorts and a tank top. Amanda couldn't help but wonder if she dressed that way to divert the attention of her opponent and she couldn't help but muse that the woman looked like someone Lee would date.

There were 80 competitors competing this day. The hall had been set up with 40 tables, each complete with a chess board and the pieces in their starting places. Each table had a timer on it. The man in charge got up in front of the crowd to explain the rules.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to our friendly preliminary tournament competition. My name is Steve and I am your host for this event. We appreciate you all coming down to cheer on your loved ones. Now as for our players, the normal rules apply. You will notice that there is a clock in front of you with two different timers on it. When I say go, the black piece player will start the timer of the white player. When the white piece player finishes his or her move, they will stop their timer and immediately begin the other timer. As the next move is played, the black piece player will stop their timer and start the other timer. This will continue with each play. You will need to keep track of how many plays are made. Each player will get 2 hours for their first 40 moves. After that, each player will have an additional hour to finish the game. We understand that this can be a long time period so bathroom breaks are allowed but must be announced to your opponent prior to the timer being started. You are not allowed any outside information or help from anyone. We ask that you not have anything at the table with you that would be misconstrued as notes or aids in any way. Each table will have its own arbiter to make sure everything is run fairly. We are keeping the rule that if a piece is touched, it has to be moved. If the game should have to be determined as a draw, the two players will both compete against each other again tomorrow instead of moving on to a new opponent. We want this to be fun and we expect everyone to show good sportsmanship so please shake your opponent's hand before starting the timer and wish each other well. Also, please respect the talking rule as your opponent is making their move. If you need a bathroom break, you may say so as they place their piece since the timers have a 5 second delay on them. We ask the spectators to please not talk while the games are in progress. We also ask that you use the bathrooms on the lower level so that there is no possibility of information being shared while the players will use the bathrooms on this level. That should do it. Let's have a fair and fun competition folks! Okay, so please each of you introduce yourselves to your partner right now quietly and wish each other luck." Steve commanded.

Amanda could see that Maurice gave his partner a smile and then shook her hand while they both shared information. Steve watched all the groups and when everyone had sat back down, he continued his instructions. "Okay so I'm going to count to 3 and then say Go. On my Go, the timers will be started and this game is underway. Any questions from anyone before we get started?" No one had any questions so Steve continued "Okay, 1 - 2 - 3 - GO!"

All 40 tables showed signs of the timers starting and the games getting under way. Amanda noticed that Maurice was the white piece player so he would go first. As she watched him take forever to make the first move, she realized that she might fall asleep during this assignment. Where was Lee? She wondered if he was having more fun than she was.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15 - The Waiter

**Chapter 15 - The Waiter**

Lee had arrived at 9am that morning to make sure the place was secured. The only people that were present were the employees of the Chess hall. They were busy preparing food and setting up the tables for the games. Lee did a thorough check throughout and couldn't find any reason to be worried at this time. He phoned Billy to let him know that he had everything secured and that Amanda was picking up the package. Billy thanked him for the information and asked how Amanda was doing. "She is all set I think Billy. I have made it clear to her that this man is not your normal defector and for her to be careful around him. I think she understood. She refused to let Francine take her place." Lee informed him.

"That's our Amanda. She likes to follow through on what she starts. It reminds me of you Scarecrow." Billy smiled as he knew that would get Lee frustrated.

Lee ran his hand through his hair as he said "BILLY! She isn't anything like me. She just jumps into everything without thinking about the consequences first."

Billy laughed and said "Thanks for proving my point."

"Oh come on Billy. I'm not that bad. Okay, I have to go change into my uniform. I'll talk to you later." Lee put the phone back in its cradle. He went into the men's room where he had already stashed his tuxedo and changed into it. He would be impersonating a waiter as his cover and he needed to look the part. After changing, Lee stashed his street clothes in the cloak room. It was nearly noon so he took his place among the other servers and kept an eye out for Amanda. A short time later, she arrived and was locked arm and arm with Maurice. Lee ducked his head and checked on some linens to avoid Amanda noticing him. He observed them making their way around the room including Maurice registering. When they sat down to eat salad, Lee took the opportunity to check on how things were progressing in the area where the games would be held. There didn't seem to be anything suspicious going on and Lee wondered if it was really necessary for them to be guarding this man but he knew they didn't have a choice. He just wondered if he would fall asleep on this assignment as he doubted he had ever done anything so boring before. It was interesting that he was supposed to be concerned about the man's safety and the fact that someone could try to go after him but instead he was more concerned about Amanda having to spend time with him. There just was something that didn't seem right about Maurice Stevens. Lee just hoped he could figure out what that was before there was trouble.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16 - End of Round 1

**Chapter 16 - End of Round 1**

Amanda was so proud of herself. It had taken awhile but she had finally figured out what Lee's cover was. He did look very handsome in a tuxedo. She found herself sneaking glances at him as he helped serve food to the guests. She kept forcing herself to keep an eye on Maurice. So far, he had stretched many times, stood up and paced around the table, stared at his opponent's breasts while she was busy figuring out her next move and genuinely seemed to be a pain to be around. Amanda was surprised that the girl hadn't called Maurice out on his behavior. About 2 hours later, both Maurice and his opponent must have agreed to a bathroom break as Amanda saw them both get up and stretch and then head to the restrooms. She wondered if she should follow and make sure no one went into the restroom at the same time that might do him harm but Lee hadn't suggested she do that so she decided not to at least at this time. She did notice that it took Maurice nearly 20 minutes to return to the table. She wondered if something in the salad hadn't agreed with him. He finally returned and the game continued. As the next 2 hours ticked by, many of the games started to have winners and the losers graciously bowed out and left the area. Amanda found herself beginning to yawn and wondered why she insisted on this case. She should have let Francine have this one. Finally nearly 6 hours after the games had begun; Maurice finally was able to achieve checkmate against his opponent. She got up and shook his hand and quickly left the area. Maurice looked over at Amanda and smiled and winked at her. The last players finally finalized their games an hour later and Steve stepped out and congratulated all the winners.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, that concludes the first round of chess games. We will begin again tomorrow at 10am. Thank you everyone for a good afternoon and I can't wait to continue the competition tomorrow." Steve announced.

Maurice got up and headed for Amanda. After a quick glance at Lee, Amanda got up and met Maurice halfway. "Well my dear, I think we are owed a night of celebration of my first win. Let's say we go out to a nice restaurant and I treat us to a fancy dinner with some great tasting wine?" Maurice suggested.

"That sounds nice but I have to get home to my family. It is already 8pm so the boys will be going to bed soon. If I hurry, I might be able to tuck them in." Amanda said apologetically.

"Well that is too bad. Perhaps another time then, yes?" Maurice suggested unwilling to give up.

"We'll see. Let's hurry." Amanda urged.

They hurried out to Amanda's car and once again Maurice insisted on driving. In no time, they arrived at his apartment. Amanda got out of the car so she could jump into the driver's seat and as she was walking around the car, Maurice grabbed her and tried to kiss her goodnight. As she realized what was happening, Amanda moved her head and Maurice's lips connected with her hair.

Amanda pretended that nothing happened and said "I'll pick you up at 9am tomorrow. Goodnight Maurice." She then jumped into her car and drove off leaving Maurice amazed that his plan hadn't worked. He shook his head as he watched her go. He didn't like women who didn't do as he wished. He was obviously going to have to be a bit more forceful with this Mrs. King.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17 - The Briefing

**Chapter 17 - The Briefing**

Amanda was happy to be home. She got there in time to check the boys' homework and give them hugs and kisses goodnight. It was a little late to eat dinner but she hadn't wanted to let Maurice spend any more time with her than was necessary so now she was realizing that she was in fact hungry. As she raided the refrigerator, her Mother came downstairs dressed in her nightgown and robe. "Oh hi Dear, you made it home I see." Her Mother said.

"Yes Mother. I got here about 30 minutes ago."

"Hot date with Dean?" Her Mother asked.

"No Mother. I was asked to support a friend at that big Chess tournament match. Well I couldn't just say no because friends should support each other. I have to tell you though Mother that I never really thought about how boring chess is."

Dotty yawned as she said "Terribly boring, I'm afraid. Your father liked chess. He wanted to play it now and then just to keep up his skills but it just was never my type of game. Is your friend any good?"

"Yes, he seems to be. He won his first round tonight. The next round starts tomorrow morning. I hate leaving the boys with you but I should be home earlier tomorrow." Amanda remarked.

"That's okay dear. I don't have anything planned. So this friend is a male? An old boyfriend?" Dotty asked.

Amanda blushed and said "No, Mother. Nothing like that. Just someone I went to High School with."

Dotty yawned again and said "Okay, well I hope he wins. What's his prize if he does?"

"He gets to go onto the semi-finals. The top 10 go to the semi-finals and then the top 4 go to the finals. I guess the winner gets a lot of money but I'm not sure."

"Okay Darling, well bring him good luck then. I'll see you in the morning." Dotty plodded back upstairs leaving Amanda alone in the kitchen eating some leftover spaghetti.

A few minutes later, she heard a tapping on her window and realized who it must be. It brought a smile to her face that he had come over. It was starting to be a habit for him to knock on her window. It was a habit she didn't mind.

Amanda quietly opened the back door and walked out into her backyard and saw Lee standing there under the moonlight. She couldn't help but think again how cute he was. "Hi, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I just came over to see how today went?" Lee said.

"It went okay. I see what you mean about your friend Maurice. He definitely is a little pushy with the touching."

"Amanda, it isn't too late to get Francine on the case."

"Oh no, no, I will be fine. I just had to remove his hands a few times from places where you wouldn't expect a stranger's hands to be."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Lee asked.

"No Lee, I can handle it. So was there any sign of trouble today?"

"Not that I could tell. I did overhear the cook talking about how there are several Russian players there and that they were very demanding with their food needs. I didn't see anyone taking notice of Maurice though so I don't think anyone has recognized him yet. Let's hope we can keep it that way."

"Lee, I was thinking about today." Amanda started.

"What about it?" Lee asked.

"Well at one point Maurice got up and used the bathroom. Now he was gone for a very long time, about 20 minutes in fact. During that time, no one was watching him and I wasn't sure what to do. Should there be an agent that can follow him into the bathroom? I mean, he is pretty unprotected during the time he is in there."

Lee looked at Amanda and shook his head. Sometimes she did make observations that were pretty sound. "I hadn't thought about that Amanda. Let me see if I can find a way to have an agent near the bathroom especially if we see that Mr. Stevens is heading in that direction."

"Thanks, Well I guess I should get to bed. I'm picking him back up at 9am tomorrow."

"Okay, well I'll see you there. Goodnight" Lee quietly slipped out of the backyard.

As Amanda watched him go, she wondered if she was staying on this case just because she hated the thought of Francine working with Lee instead of herself. She shook her head and realized that she was probably just tired and needed some sleep.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18 - Man Down

**Chapter 18 - Man Down**

Amanda arrived at Maurice's apartment promptly at 9am and again had to wait for him outside. He insisted again on driving her car and drove them back to the Chess Hall. Since half of the competitors had been eliminated yesterday, only 40 players remained and soon everyone had arrived and taken their spots at their tables. Amanda once again took a seat in the section for observers and began looking for Lee. She discovered that he was already there and busy serving breakfast to some of the guests. He looked up and looked her way and their eyes met for just a few seconds. Amanda settled back to keep an eye on Maurice. His opponent today was a man. Unlike most of the other players, he was dressed in suit and seemed less geeky than the other players. Steve had made some announcements before the games got started which included that all players would stop for lunch at noon and a bell would be rung to let them know to stop all clocks. All the players did the traditional good luck handshake and the games were soon underway.

Amanda spent the morning watching Maurice's opponent. She couldn't help but notice that he seemed very nervous. He kept scanning the crowds and appeared to be searching for something or someone. If Maurice noticed anything, he didn't show it. At noon, the bell rang and all play was stopped. To keep everyone from being tempted to cheat, the waiters were sent around to each table to take their order and the players were asked to stay at their tables unless they needed a bathroom break. Amanda watched both Maurice and his opponent get up and head to the Men's room. Amanda could only hope that the agent assigned to the bathroom was on alert. Once again, Maurice took about 20 minutes to use the restroom. His opponent wasn't much quicker and both found themselves with very little time to order their lunch and eat it. It turned out that Lee was their waiter and Amanda smiled as she realized that it probably wasn't just a coincidence. Lee was good at what he did, she knew that for sure.

Lunch was proclaimed to be over at 1pm and the players were asked to continue their games. Amanda decided to go see if she could find the agent that had covered the bathrooms. She wanted to ask him if he observed anything suspicious of both Maurice and his opponent using the bathroom at the same time. She slowly made her way to the hallway where the restrooms were while acknowledging everyone she met along the way. When she got to the restrooms, there was no sign of the agent anywhere. She was about to go back to her seat when she heard a groan. She began looking around to see where it was coming from but at first didn't see anything. Then she heard a much louder moan and realized it was coming from the closet. She carefully opened the door and let the light from the hall shine into the closet. There was a man propped up against a wall with blood oozing out of a cut on his forehead. Amanda ran over to him and asked him what happened and if he was okay.

"Mrs. King, I'm Agent Brown. I was keeping the hallway secure when suddenly something heavy hit me on the back of my head. I went down and when I tried to get up, I was hit in the forehead and must have passed out"

"Oh no, do you know who hit you?" Amanda asked.

"No, I never saw them."

"Let me go get Lee. Will you be okay for a minute?"

"Yes, but Mrs. King please be careful. I overheard some stuff in the bathroom which is why I think I was hit. I think someone is going to be kidnapped during the games."

"Okay, hang on. Lee needs to hear this. I'll be right back." Amanda said as she rushed out to find Lee. As Amanda emerged onto the floor, she immediately began looking for Lee. At first, he was nowhere to be found and then suddenly he exited the kitchen and was walking toward the game tables with a bottle of water. After handing it to one of the players, he started to walk to the side of the room but caught Amanda motioning to him. He gave her a look because no one was supposed to know that they knew each other but Amanda didn't seem to care. Lee decided it was better to go to her than to have her continue to call attention to herself. He rushed over to where she was standing and grabbed her, pulling her into the hallway and out of the view of the spectators. "Amanda, we aren't supposed to know each other" He hissed at her.

"I know Lee, but this is important. Agent Brown has been attacked and is hurt in the closet."

"Show me" Lee said and Amanda led him to the closet. Amanda opened the closet door and said "Agent Brown, I have Lee with me. We'll get you some..."

Amanda realized that Agent Brown was no longer in the closet. Not knowing where he was supposed to be looking, Lee looked all around for his agent and didn't see anyone.

"Amanda, where is he?" Lee asked.

"I don't know. He was right here and now he's gone. I was gone for just a couple of minutes. Lee, something isn't right. He told me to be careful because he overheard some stuff and he told me that there might be a kidnapping during the games."

"What else did he tell you?" Lee pressed.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean nothing? Amanda, he didn't tell you what exactly he heard?"

"He started to but I told him to wait because I should get you so you could hear him."

"Oh Amanda! He probably had vital information that he could have at least given you."

"I know that now but at the time it seemed reasonable that he should be telling you."

"Well come on. We have to get back out there. I want you to come to the agency after you drop Maurice off tonight though so we can talk more about this and so we can fill Billy in , okay?"

"Yes, Lee, I'm a little worried. That poor Agent Brown had a pretty good sized cut on his head and it was still bleeding. I hope he will be okay."

"Yeah, me too." Lee said though he wasn't convinced that he would ever see Agent Brown alive again.

The rest of the afternoon went by without any other excitement and after about 5 hours, Maurice won his match. All of the winners were told to be back once again for 10am the next morning. Amanda walked over to Maurice and congratulated him on another win. Lee watched Maurice try to put his arm around Amanda's shoulder as they walked out together but noticed that Amanda shrugged it off. Lee followed at a distance behind them and decided to just tail them to Maurice's apartment and then follow Amanda back to the agency. When Amanda pulled up to Maurice's apartment, Lee could see that Maurice was trying to make a move on Amanda. Lee began to get out of the car to stop it when he saw Amanda Shove Maurice and he got out of the car. She could definitely hold her own when she had to. Maurice quickly went into his apartment building and Amanda drove off with Lee right behind her. They pulled into the agency parking lot at the same time and Amanda smiled as she saw Lee getting out of his car. They walked in together and headed for Billy's office. When they reached the door, Lee knocked and Billy said "Come in"

Billy motioned for them to both have a seat. It was late so the Bullpen was fairly quiet as most everyone had gone home. Francine was still there though and Billy called for her to come join them. Francine came in and stood off to the side of Billy's desk. "Why look at you two. Aren't you all cozy? Amanda dear, are you enjoying your time at the chess games. I would imagine that being a simple housewife, you probably have never even seen chess played before." Francine needled her.

"Actually Francine, my father loved chess. You are right though, the game is not exactly my favorite thing to watch." Amanda agreed.

"No, I'm sure you would much prefer a Quilting Bee or Square dancing competition or whatever else you people do." Francine continued trying to get a reaction.

"Alright, can it Francine" Billy interrupted. "Let's get down to business. So Amanda, tell us what you saw this afternoon."

"Yes Sir" Amanda said as she told him about Agent Brown and how he was hurt but had warned that there was a possible kidnapping in the works and then he disappeared when she went to get Lee.

Billy listened while in deep thought. After Amanda finished telling her story, Billy said "I wonder if they have figured out who Maurice is and plan to kidnap him."

"Billy, if they have figured it out, they sure haven't made it seem like it. I haven't seen or heard anything to suggest it. Maybe it is time to have a chat with my old friend TP and ask him if he knows anything."

"That's not a bad idea" Billy nodded. "He always seems to have an ear to things before we do. How long will it take for you to contact him?"

"I'll talk to him tonight if he is available and hopefully have some news tomorrow." Lee confirmed.

"Okay, well let's all meet back here tomorrow after you have made contact. Amanda, are you doing okay with the assignment?" Billy asked.

"Oh yes sir. Mr. Stevens is a very friendly man but I'm doing okay." Amanda said.

"Good, well then let's all plan to meet back here after you drop him off tomorrow. Okay?"

Amanda hesitated and Billy noticed it. "Is there a problem Amanda?"

"Well Sir, I was just thinking..."

"OH here we go" Said Francine.

Billy glared at her and said "Go on Amanda."

"Well Sir, if someone wanted to kidnap Maurice, why would they wait until these games to do it. I mean wouldn't they just go to his apartment and take him? It isn't like he is in a very securitized building. He has a locked front door but aren't they pretty easy to get through if you really wanted to?"

Before Billy could say anything, Francine said "Amanda dear, we don't pay you to think. It would be obvious to take him from his apartment but if they could snag him during the games, it could look like he got upset about losing and took off."

"Well except he isn't losing and he is good so it doesn't look like he will be losing." Amanda said.

"I think she has you there Francine" Lee said with a smug smile. "No Amanda is right. Why haven't they taken him before now? There is no reason not to take him at any time and it isn't like they would be worried about Amanda. They would just kill her and move on."

"Gee, thanks Lee." Amanda said with a worried tone.

"You know what I mean Amanda. You wouldn't be important to them so they have no reason to not take him just because you are with him. No, there is something more here that we just aren't seeing." Lee offered.

"Okay, well let's think on it for tonight and see what we come up with by tomorrow. Everyone stay on your toes, okay? Lee, try to reach TP. Hopefully he can shed some light on this." Billy said.

Lee and Amanda headed out to their cars and Lee walked Amanda to hers and made sure she was safely inside. "Lee, who is TP?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, he's just an old friend. He helps me now and then." Lee offered.

"Oh, well you will be careful too, right?" Amanda asked.

"Amanda, you know me, I'm always careful." Lee said as he smiled at her. "Drive home safe and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Lee"

"Goodnight Amanda"

TBC


	19. Chapter 19 - The Meeting

**Chapter 19 -The Meeting**

Lee got in his car and drove over to the Library of Congress in hopes that TP was still there. He wasn't surprised to find him sitting at his desk while looking over some files.

"Hey TP" Lee said.

"Oh hi Lee. I wondered when you were going to pop in. I heard you have your hands full with an old friend of yours."

"He's not a friend TP and you know it."

"Yeah, I know, just giving you a hard time Lee ole boy. So I'm guessing you are looking for some information."

Lee smiled and said "You are always on to me TP. Seriously though, what can you tell me about these games? One of my agents disappeared today but before he did, Amanda said that he mentioned a kidnapping. Any idea who is being kidnapped?" Lee asked.

"Amanda? Who's Amanda?" TP asked.

Lee let out a big sigh and raked his hand through his hair. "No one you have had the pleasure to meet yet. It's a long story but basically I met her a couple of months ago when I was desperate and needed to hand off a package to someone and since I don't work with a partner, I happened to spot her in the crowd at the train station and she seemed, well you know, she seemed normal and someone that maybe I could trust to just deliver the package. Only she didn't deliver the package and so, well it's a long story but in the end, it all worked out but Billy has been determined to make me work with her. He calls her my new partner."

TP began laughing. "Lee, I've never known you to ramble like that. Good ole Billy. He must see something in her if he is keeping her around. It isn't often that civilians come into the business like this. This Amanda must be something else to want to stay in this business as a civilian too."

"It's really not funny TP. Amanda King can be one of the most stubborn, pig headed, frustrating woman at times..." Lee began to explain while TP began laughing harder.

"Awww, now it makes sense. Billy found someone more stubborn than you that can put up with you. Good for him. I can't wait to meet her."

"Yeah, well don't hold your breathe. I'm sure all this novelty will wear off soon and she will go back to her two kids in her Suburban home and forget all this spy business." Lee said.

"Maybe or maybe she will end up being the best partner you ever had." TP said with a grin.

"TP! You know I don't work with partners. Now can we get back to this kidnapping thing?"

"Sure, well word on the street is that there are some high stakes during this chess tournament. Since Russia is being allowed to participate, there might be a few of their agents floating around undetected. It seems that some highly classified documents might have been obtained detailing the US's entire Nuclear weapons program including how many we have and where they are all located. I don't have to tell you that if Russia gets its hands on those documents, the results would be devastating. Those documents are now up for grabs and they likely will be shared during the games while everyone is busy watching other things."

"Wow, that's really not good TP. How solid is your source?" Lee asked.

"Solid as a rock. Lee, you need to figure out who has these documents and stop them. I would say that the documents will be headed into Russia's hands within the next 48 Hours. It doesn't leave you much time to figure out who is involved."

"Do you have any idea who it might be TP?" Lee asked as he nervously raked his hand through his hair again.

"No, but it has to be someone who has connections with some important people. These are not documents that just anyone would have access to. Good luck Lee. Oh and good luck with Amanda too. I can't wait to hear more about her."

"Yeah." Lee said "Thanks TP" Lee went back outside and got into his car. As he headed for home, he couldn't help but think about how much trouble they were in for if the Russians got their hands on those documents. Who could be responsible and how was he going to figure that out when he had so little time?

TBC


	20. Chapter 20 - Homefront

**Chapter 20 - Homefront**

The next morning Amanda woke up and headed downstairs to get her sons ready for school. When she entered the kitchen, she found Dotty sitting at the counter reading the newspaper. "Hi Mother" she said as she went to the refrigerator to get the ingredients to make pancakes for breakfast.

"Oh, hi Dear. How was the chess tournament yesterday?" Dotty asked.

"Pretty boring." Amanda said as she thought about how poor Agent Brown probably didn't feel that way. She couldn't help but wonder if he was still alive or not.

"Is your friend still winning?" Dotty asked?

"Yes, he won yesterday's match so he is having a new match today. If he wins today, then the final match will be tomorrow until the semi-finals next month."

Amanda quickly whipped up the pancakes and set them out for the boys. "Fellas, come get your breakfast. The bus will be here soon." Amanda yelled up the stairs. Soon a sleepy looking Phillip and Jamie came down the stairs and slumped into their chairs.

"Oh come on fellas, why the long faces?" Amanda asked.

"Mom, we can't help it. Tommy Smithfield told Nick Clanch that Sara Trist is predicting that the Bombers are going to lose the game on Friday." Phillip said.

"Yeah, and Sara always predicts correctly on who wins and loses games. If we lose this one, we will be the laughing stock because everyone knows that the Gators are the worse team. It will be awful if we lose to them." Jamie whined.

"Well fellas, I don't know anyone who can predict 100% of the time who will win or lose. Why don't you just go out and play the best game possible and then if you do lose, you can hold your head up high and be proud that you did your best." Amanda offered.

"Mom, you don't understand. The Gators are the worse team. They even have 2 girls on their team." Phillip tried to make his mother understand.

"Oh, I see. Yes, well that does make it bad if you lose to them, doesn't it? Well since the game is still over a week away, why don't you eat your breakfast and get to school so you can show off how good you did your homework from last night."

"I think Phillip forgot to do his homework last night. He mentioned that he intended to do it on the bus this morning." Jamie said.

"Shut up Wormbrain. You promised not to tell her." Phillip gave Jamie a shove and a threatening look.

"Phillip, please don't shove your brother or call him names and don't tell him to shut up and why didn't you do your homework?" Amanda scolded.

"I'm sorry Mom, I forgot. I meant to do it but I went to the park to practice batting and by the time I got home, it was dinner time and then I forgot." Phillip admitted.

"Well that means, your homework will need to be done before you go to the park tonight, right?" Amanda said.

"Okay Mommy. I promise." Phillip said.

"Okay, I think I hear the bus pulling up so you better get going. Give me hugs guys."

The boys hugged their Mom and Grandmother and then ran for the bus.

After the door shut behind them, Dotty chuckled and said "Wait until he discovers girls."

"MOTHER! I'm not ready for that yet." Amanda moaned just thinking about it.

"Oh darling, I remember when you discovered boys. Your father was ready to lock you in a tower and not let you grow your hair out." Dotty laughed thinking about it.

"I was pretty bad, wasn't I?" Amanda smiled thinking about how cute Jimmy was and what a huge crush she had on him. He had the cutest dimples and she loved flirting with him. The memory of his dimples brought to mind someone else who had the cutest dimples and she shook her head to clear out the memories.

"Okay Mother, I have to get going or else I'm going to be late. I think it will be a late night again. Will you and the boys be okay?"

"Yes dear, we will be fine. Have fun at the tournament." Dotty said as she hugged her daughter goodbye.

As Amanda headed to her car, she couldn't help but hope that things would stay boring today.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21 - Day 3

**Chapter 21 - Day 3**

After leaving TP, Lee drove home and called Billy to let him know what was going on. Billy was as upset as Lee to hear this news and told Lee that it was vital that he figure out who had the documents and that this person must be stopped at all costs from giving them to the Russians. Lee agreed and suggested that they not share this information with Amanda since it would just scare her and she didn't really need to know. Billy agreed at least for now and told Lee to get a good night's sleep as he was going to need it.

Lee arrived early the next day at the Chess hall so that he could do a total sweep of the entire facility in hopes of finding something that would lead him to where Agent Brown might be. Whoever had taken him, had made sure to leave nothing behind. There wasn't even any blood from the wound that Amanda had described. After looking all around, Lee went out to talk to the staff. He went first to see Betsy who was in charge of all of the Kitchen help.

"Betsy, did anyone report any kind of fight or scuffle during the games yesterday?" Lee asked her.

"No, not to me they didn't Lee. Did you hear of a fight? I need to know about it if my help are causing a scene" Betsy said.

Lee sighed as he didn't intend to start trouble. "No, nothing like that. I heard that maybe one of the security people were in a fight so I didn't know if any of the help noticed anything and reported it."

"No, nothing was reported about a fight. The only report that I had was that the men's upstairs bathroom was locked for about 20 minutes yesterday. It appears that it was locked the day before for 20 minutes also. Whoever locked it wouldn't answer and was able to return to the floor without being noticed." Betsy admitted.

"I didn't know you could lock the bathrooms." Lee said.

"Yes, it is a security feature that was installed in case of a terrorist attack. The stalls are bullet proof so that people can hide in them and the locks help slow down the progress of someone trying to find hostages. We decided to take this precaution a few years back when the building was taken over by that terrorist group out of Germany. We lost several people that day and many had gone to the bathroom to hide so we know it is the first thought people have for a hiding place." Betsy explained.

"I remember that. It was awful. A lot of people were killed that day." Lee recalled.

"Yes and so needlessly too. They were innocent people who had nothing to do with the war between Iraq and Iran. There just happened to be powerful people there that day and the terrorist group from Iran decided to get even with the US support of Iraq. It was all swept under the carpet in the end though so that the media didn't make a big deal about it. It was the friends and families of the innocent that suffered the most that day since the media attention was very short lived during that time."

"Well I need to get back to work but thanks for your information." Lee said. So someone was using the bathroom as a place to talk was Lee's first thoughts. Why else would they need to lock themselves in for 20 minutes at a time both days? Lee needed to patrol the hallway outside the bathroom himself today. He headed over to talk to Carl who was arranging the silverware into napkins. Carl was the supervisor for the wait staff and was responsible for assigning them duties.

"Hi Carl, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Sure, what's up Lee?" Carl asked.

Lee pulled out his badge and showed it to Carl. "I'm with the agency and we have reason to believe that someone is going to be kidnapped during this event. I was assigned to keep an eye on things and now I have been alerted to the fact that there might be activities happening in the men's restroom during this event. I'm going to need to relax my duties as a waiter so that I can spend some time near the bathrooms and I need your help with that. Can I count on you?" Lee asked.

"Absolutely! What do you need me to do?" Carl asked.

"I need to pretend that I'm still working but not actually be responsible for serving anyone. In other words, I will make myself look busy but not actually be doing anything. The other Waiters will have to cover for me. Can we do that?"

"I'm sure we can make that work. Who are they trying to kidnap?" Carl asked.

Lee said "I wish I knew."

At that moment, Lee noticed that Amanda had arrived with Maurice. He was one of 20 competitors who were left in the competition. Amanda seemed more nervous than normal and Lee hoped that she wasn't still upset about Agent Brown. He knew that Amanda was still not used to this new world she was a part of so it was harder for her to let go of agents being hurt or killed. After seeing his own partner killed, well you just got used to these things whether you wanted to or not. Lee shook his head to clear his thoughts and then raked his hand through his hair as he mentality prepared himself for the day. He was glad that they had decided not to tell Amanda about the documents that apparently were being sold during this tournament. He was sure that would have made things even harder for her. He was relieved to see her smile at him so he would know she was okay and he could focus on the task at hand. Tomorrow would be the last day of competition as they would have their 10 semi-finalists. It was important that Lee figure out what was going on today as he was quickly running out of time. He decided to make himself look busy by cleaning off tables that were near the bathroom hallway. It gave him the chance to keep an eye on anyone who might enter the bathroom. In the back of his head, he kept thinking that he was forgetting an important clue to this case but he just couldn't think of what it was. Hopefully it came back to him soon if it was really important.

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Amanda had arrived at Maurice's apartment around 9am like she promised. When she buzzed him, he requested that she come inside as he wasn't quite ready. She was a little concerned about this request since he never seemed to want her in his apartment previously but she didn't want trouble so she walked to his door and knocked. "Come in" she heard from inside. She walked inside and was greeted by Maurice standing in front of her wearing only a towel that barely covered his private area. Amanda immediately looked away and said "I didn't know you weren't dressed yet. Perhaps I should step outside while you finish getting dressed."

"Nonsense, my dear." Maurice said as he went over and wrapped his arms around Amanda from her back. "I think we should get to know each other better. I was going to invite you to take a shower with me but I knew we wouldn't have time so I have been waiting so you could towel me off. I do feel awfully wet, don't you?"

Amanda shrugged out of Maurice's grasp and said "Maurice, now I told you that I have a boyfriend. I care about Dean very much and have no desire to hurt the trust between us. Now I want you to march into the bathroom and I want you to get dressed. You are an adult and you should know better than this. I'm going to wait outside the building and I expect you to be out there in 5 minutes. You got it? Good." Amanda's motherly instincts had kicked in and she decided she needed to put an end to whatever games this man wanted to play. Before she could leave the apartment, Maurice stepped in front of her and said "You are a little spitfire, aren't you? I like my women to have this kind of pep. I'm not done with you yet Mrs. King. You are going to realize that we are made for each other. I'll go get dressed now though because I don't want to be late but we aren't done yet." Maurice tried again to kiss her but Amanda shoved him away from her and hurried outside. She shook off the aggravation she felt for this man. He just wasn't a nice man and she again wondered if maybe she was over her head on this case. Amanda breathed deeply and calmed herself down. She wondered what Lee would do to Maurice if he knew what he had just tried to pull. She shuddered thinking about the whole thing. When Maurice arrived outside, Amanda didn't say anything to him, she just began walking to her car. "Look Amanda, I'm sorry I upset you. I can't help myself. You are a beautiful woman. I'm used to having my way with the women that interest me."

"Well I'm not that kind of woman!" Amanda said angrily. "I don't know what happens in your country but in this country, a woman has a right to say no and the man is supposed to respect that."

"Well maybe we should continue this in my country then" Maurice mumbled.

"What?" Amanda asked.

"Nothing, Again I'm sorry Amanda. Let's just forget it happened, okay?"

Amanda said "I will if you promise not to do it again."

"I promise that I will behave myself the rest of the day Amanda." Maurice said though Amanda didn't really feel there was a lot of sincerity in the promise.

They arrived at the Chess hall and Maurice went to find out who he would be playing against today while Amanda took a seat in the observer's section. She immediately looked for Lee and saw that he was hanging out near the hall that led to the restrooms. She wondered if there had been any word on Agent Brown. She also wondered if Lee had learned anything from this TP person that he was going to talk to last night.

Soon the games were underway and the pressure was on since this was the next to last game before the semi-finals. There was definitely an electrical current running though the event and Amanda was glad the whole thing was almost over and she wouldn't have to see Maurice again. She had never been with a man like him. Her ex-husband had his faults but he didn't try to control Amanda nor did he think he had a right to grope her when he wanted to. Dean was a whole different matter since he seemed almost afraid to touch her most times. She couldn't imagine a woman liking the way Maurice treated women. She again found herself shuddering and looked up just in time to see Lee watching her. She smiled to try to tell him that she was okay but he looked worried as he observed her.

The time dragged by very slowly but finally it was time for lunch. Amanda had taken note of Maurice's opponent today and concluded that he was an old Chess wiz and that he might beat Maurice. The man was very tall, had a full head of white hair and was dressed in a business suit. He had a darker complexion but Amanda wasn't sure what his Nationality was. The wait staff went around and took the lunch orders from all the players. Amanda noticed that Lee was not involved today. In fact, he seemed to be hanging around near the bathrooms. Almost like clockwork, Maurice suddenly got up and went to the bathroom. His opponent followed a few seconds later. Amanda watched Lee to see if he would enter the bathroom with him but he chose instead to stay in the hallway. As Amanda sat watching him, Lee suddenly disappeared from her view. She figured that he had stepped further into the hallway, out of her sight. At first, she wasn't concerned but when both Maurice and his opponent came back to their table about 20 minutes later and there was still no sign of Lee, Amanda wondered where he had gone. Amanda noticed that Maurice seemed to be staring at her a lot and at first she tried to just ignore it but then noticed that it was her breasts that he was staring at. Without thinking, she found herself folding her arms up across her chest as if she was naked and needed to cover up. This man definitely gave her the creeps. Lunchtime ended and the players soon resumed their games. Amanda couldn't tell if Maurice was winning or not but his opponent seemed to be very intent on beating him. It occurred to Amanda an hour later that she still hadn't seen Lee since he disappeared from view. Could something have happened to him? She quickly walked to the restrooms and looked around but didn't see any sign of Lee anywhere. She decided to call to him to see if he would answer "Lee, are you in here?" She asked. There was no sound. Amanda called several more times and then opened the closet to make sure he wasn't in it. The closet was empty. What could have happened to Lee?

TBC


	22. Chapter 22 - Missing Man

**Chapter 22 - Missing Man**

Amanda returned to her seat wondering if she should call Billy or wait to see if Lee showed back up. He could have found something and went to investigate and she would just get him upset that she hadn't trusted him. Amanda continued to wait for another hour and then finally decided to call Billy. She checked the hallway one more time and even knocked on the bathroom door and said Lee's name but there wasn't any answer. Amanda went to the lobby entrance and found a payphone. She call the agency and asked to speak to Billy Melrose but was told that he was out of the office for the rest of the day but would be back that evening. Amanda knew that he would be there for the meeting they had planned the day before. . Amanda asked if Francine was available and they patched her through to her desk.

"Hello?" Francine said.

"Hi Francine, it's me Amanda."

"Oh hi Amanda. What's the matter now? Did you forget to turn the iron off when you left the house this morning? Asked Francine.

"Francine, please listen to me. Have you heard from Lee at all today?" Amanda asked.

Francine sighed and said "No, Amanda, it wasn't my job to watch him. It was yours. Are you saying you lost him?"

"I'm not sure. He was staking out the bathrooms and then he disappeared" Amanda explained.

"Well Amanda, he might have been onto a lead. He doesn't have to report to you every single thing he does. Aren't you supposed to both meet Billy tonight? I'm sure he will show up for that." Francine scolded her.

Amanda sighed. She never could seem to have a conversation with this woman without her trying to put her down. "You are probably right Francine. I'll see him in a few hours at the meeting. Bye."

"Bye Amanda" Francine said as she stared at the receiver before hanging it up. Whatever did Billy see in that woman? A civilian just shouldn't be involved in these types of cases. Francine should be working with Lee. She wouldn't have lost him, that's for sure. Francine smiled as she hung the phone and went back to work. 

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Amanda went out to the kitchen to find Lee's supervisor. Something just didn't seem right and she was worried. Lee wouldn't have gone off without backup. At least Amanda didn't think he would have since he knew it could get him into trouble. As she entered the kitchen, a lovely young lady came over to her and said "Can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Amanda and I'm looking for a friend of mine."

"Well dear the games are out there. I think you took a wrong turn."

"No, I'm sorry, my friend is a waiter on the staff here. His name is Lee."

"Oh yes, Lee. Well I'm his supervisor, Betsy. I haven't seen him for a couple of hours now. How do you know him?" Betsy asked suspiciously.

"I am actually a business associate of his. I think you know that he is undercover. I am too. He was keeping an eye on the bathrooms and then suddenly disappeared. I was just wondering if anyone knew where he went." Amanda explained.

"Unfortunately we were just talking about him and wondered if he had headed out on a lead because no one has seen him since lunch. Do you think he has been kidnapped or something?"

"I don't know. I'm sure he will show up." Amanda tried to sound more reassuring than she felt. "Thanks for your help." Amanda went back out to the observation area and sat down while continuing to scan the crowd for Lee.

Suddenly she noticed that Maurice had called Checkmate. He would definitely be moving on to the final game tomorrow. It was another hour before the rest of the games had been decided and the day was concluded. During that time, Lee had not resurfaced.

Amanda met up with Maurice and they both headed out to Amanda's car. Along the way, Maurice said "You seem to be bothered by something Amanda. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Congratulations on your win. Your opponent today seemed to be a chess wiz so I wasn't sure if you were going to win or not."

"Oh, he is actually the 1979 Grand Champion." Maurice mused. "He definitely was a challenge but I have studied chess for many years. In Russia, I was considered one of the best."

"Have you played with him before?" Amanda suddenly asked.

Maurice stopped walking and said "What makes you think that?"

Amanda stopped and looked back at him wondering about his reaction. "Oh, I was just asking. Since he is a champion and you competed back home, I was just wondering if your paths had ever crossed before."

Maurice shook his head and said "No, I had never met him before today. The competitions I did in Russia were just for Russians. He obviously is not Russian."

"Oh, well come along, I really do need to get home. I promised Mother that I would be home early tonight because she has a date to go to the movies." Amanda lied. Something wasn't right with Maurice's reaction and it made Amanda a little fearful to be with him. Since Lee wasn't around, she knew that no one would be coming to save her if he did something she couldn't control so she needed to get away from him and soon.

They reached Amanda's car and soon Maurice was driving them back to his apartment. His hand began to wander onto Amanda's leg but she removed it and reminded him that he had promised to behave. He laughed and said that he had forgotten that promise. He pulled up in front of his apartment building and asked Amanda to come in for a drink. She reminded him again that she needed to get home and asked him to get out of the car. He started to hesitate but at that moment a police cruiser pulled up in back of them. Maurice seemed to panic when he saw the officer get out and told Amanda that he needed to get going and got out of the car and headed to his apartment. The officer watched him go as he walked to Amanda's car. "Hi Miss. Do you realize that it is illegal to park on a sidewalk like this?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. My friend needed to get home and he wanted to get the car off the road so that I could change seats. The car really isn't intended to be parked, just stopped so we could do that. I didn't know we couldn't do that sir. How much will the ticket cost?" Amanda asked while feeling relieved that the officer had messed up whatever Maurice had in mind.

"Oh, no worries Ma'am. Just remember next time not to do this." the Officer said with a smile as he helped Amanda out of the car. "Wow, that's quite a cast you have on. No wonder you couldn't walk far. Well don't worry about it, just hurry along off the sidewalk."

"Thanks Officer Hersh. I will." Amanda said as she read his name tag. She got into the car and smiled at him as she safely pulled off the sidewalk. As she turned her car in the direction of the agency, she said a small prayer that Lee had shown up but something told her that it wasn't going to be the case.

TBC


	23. Chapter 23 - Back at the Agency

**Chapter 23 - Back at the Agency**

Amanda arrived at the agency and looked for Lee's car but knew deep down that she wouldn't see it. There was no sign of it. She hurried into the agency and rushed to Billy's office. As soon as she knocked on Billy's door, he told her to come in. She entered and found Francine sitting in one of the chairs facing Billy.

"Good Evening Amanda." Billy said.

"Sir? Is there any word from Lee at all?"

Billy hung his head for a moment and said "No, nothing. When did you last see him?"

"Well sir, we had talked about Maurice's habit of using the bathroom for a long period of time each day so he had staked out the hallway that led to the restrooms. When Maurice went to the bathroom at Noon, I saw Lee standing in the hallway but then he disappeared. I thought at first that he just went out of view but when Maurice came back to his table and Lee didn't appear, I went to check it out and found him gone."

"Amanda you should have called the agency and let us know." Billy said gently.

"Oh I did Sir. You weren't here but I talked to Francine. Didn't she tell you?" Amanda asked.

Francine immediately jumped to her own defense. "I thought Lee had stepped outside and would be back shortly. Since Amanda is just a civilian, she has no idea when an agent is really in trouble or not and I told her that Lee would likely show up tonight." Francine mumbled the last part when she realized that there was no real excuse for not alerting anyone of Amanda's concerns. "You were gone Billy. I had to make a decision and well we know that Amanda here likes to make things more dramatized than they are." Francine tried to dig herself out of Billy being upset with her.

"Don't bother Francine trying to explain this anymore! You should have told me. Now Lee may be in trouble and if he is, we are hours behind whatever happened to him."

"Sir, do you think he is the person that is supposed to be kidnapped? Was this all planned right along? Amanda asked.

"I'm not sure Amanda. So far no one has bragged about getting one of our top agents and usually they love to boast such things."

"If it is the KGB, what will they do to him?" Amanda asked.

Billy smiled gently at Amanda and said "Let's not worry about that right now. Let's start a search for him, okay?"

"Okay, where do we start?" Amanda said. She was determined to find him.

TBC


	24. Chapter 24 - Kidnapped

**Chapter 24 - Kidnapped**

When Lee awoke, he found himself tied to a bed in a dark room that had no windows. His head hurt horribly and he was having a hard time focusing. He looked around to see if he could figure out where he was but nothing looked familiar. The last thing he remembered was that he had been at the Chess hall and had witnessed Maurice and his opponent both head into the Men's Bathroom. He had stayed outside since he had planted a bug in the bathroom earlier and could hear what was being said.

As Maurice entered the bathroom, he said "So is everything in place?"

Speaking with a Russian accent, the other man said "Yes, everything will happen tomorrow afternoon right after the lunch break. Do you have the documents?"

Maurice laughed and said "Do I have them, Ivan? Why else would I have come to this stupid country? I cannot wait to go home. It has taken way too long to do this but I know that my superiors will be pleased with my work. I might even be able to take an early retirement."

"Well let's just get this done before you begin bragging. Did you notice that agent out in the hallway?" Ivan asked.

"Oh yes, Mr. Stetson is very good at his job. After all, he was the one who came to my rescue when I wanted to defect from Russia. These Americans are so stupid. It was so easy to con them into believing that story and play the victim so that they would let me not only into their country but also allow me into top secret places that the average citizen would never be allowed. It is no wonder the Russians are far superior to Americans. Well right about now, Mr. Stetson should be finding himself being the one who needs saving." Maurice began laughing an evil laugh just as Lee felt a heavy object hit him in the back of the head and everything went black.

Now he found himself tightly bound and he couldn't see any way out of his predicament. He laid still trying to get his energy back and while also trying to get rid of the headache from whatever had hit him on the head. Several hours passed and then the door to the room opened and a man entered. He turned on a lamp that was on the opposite wall from where Lee was tied to the bed. Lee recognized him right away as the man who was Maurice's first opponent during the Chess match.

"Well Mr. Stetson, you are awake. I'm sorry that your accommodations can't be more comfortable but you know how it is."

"Why have you brought me here?" Lee asked.

"Why isn't it obvious? We needed to get you out of the way so that Maurice's brilliant plan could continue. You were definitely getting to be too much in the way. I guess the famous Scarecrow is almost as good as your reputation says though it is a shame that you won't live long enough to become more of a legend."

"Who are you and why am I here?" Lee tried again to get information from this man.

"I guess you have a right to know that much at least. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Anton and I'm an agent for the KGB. You sir are a hostage to ensure that nothing goes wrong with our plans."

"What plans would those be?" Lee inquired.

Anton laughed and said "Why to kidnap Victor or Maurice as you now call him and return him to Russia where he belongs right after he produces secret Government documents telling us everything we ever wanted to know about your nuclear weapons program. Isn't it brilliant? This whole time your Government has been cozying up to Victor while he was helping himself to one of the most important secrets from this country. You are all a bunch of fools. It has taken years to accomplish this mission but it is all paying off in the long run."

"So you are telling me that when Victor defected, he only did it so he could spy on America?"

"Oh, Scarecrow, maybe you are smarter than I thought you were. Yes, Victor begged to be allowed to run this mission. He never knew it would take 5 years to obtain something so valuable but it will all be worth his sacrifices. It worked out well too that the Chess tournament was taking place just months after he finally got the documents. We knew that the US would not block our participation in the games so it gave us the chance to set up this plan. It is just so brilliant. Victor will be a hero in Russia. They will write history books about him. I'm so jealous. He deserves all the recognition though for having to live with all of you for 5 years."

"So the kidnapping isn't real? It's all just a front so that it looks like he was forced back to Russia. All of you have gone to a lot of trouble for something that shouldn't matter. Why does he care if anyone knew that he was an agent at this point?"

"Oh, Victor made some really good, powerful friends in the US. We would be stupid to ruin the relationships that he created. We might need to take advantage of some of those relationships during another time. That is why we won't be able to let you live Scarecrow. We can't have you telling anyone that the kidnapping isn't real, now can we?"

"So why am I still alive right now?" Lee asked.

"Insurance. Just in case something goes wrong, we still have the almighty Scarecrow. So again, I'm sorry I can't make you more comfortable but I'm afraid this will have to do. I need to go meet my contact to pick up those valuable documents. I hope you won't be too lonely by yourself. I'll be back shortly. Have a great day." Anton chuckled as he left the room.

Lee shook his head. Of course, it now all made sense. He had been played for a fool back in Istanbul. When he had found Victor, he knew something hadn't seem right even then but he dismissed it for the man just being nervous and scared. He had acted like a victim and had told Lee that they would kill him if they found him. He had bought the whole story. How stupid could he be? He realized now that the men that Victor had pointed out in the CIA were all low level spies and were expendable. He had really given the US very little but no one had considered that there was ulterior motives and so they were happy to help him get out of Russia.

He needed to get out of there and stop all of this. He started looking at the ropes that secured him to the bed. They were so tightly bound that his hands had started to lose circulation. There seemed to be no way out of this. He had to figure out a way though. He needed to find a way to let Billy know what was happening and he needed to get word to Amanda. Oh my God, Amanda! She was right in the middle of this whole thing. He had to save Amanda. Why did he think it was a smart idea not to tell her the information that he had found out from TP? She had no idea that so much was at stake and just how dangerous this whole mission had become. He had even convinced Billy not to tell her. Now it was all his fault if something happened to her. Lee began pulling on the ropes that bound him, trying to loosen them. The whole time the image of Amanda's sons stayed in his head and he couldn't help but think about 2 boys whose whole lives would change if they grew up without their mother.

TBC


	25. Chapter 25 - Be Careful

**Chapter 25 - Be Careful**

Billy had sent Amanda home to get some sleep. There really wasn't much she could do and he needed to organize the agents who would be looking for Lee. Francine had volunteered to begin the search. Billy approved the suggestion considering she was the one who messed things up by not letting them know sooner that there might be a problem. Francine quickly got on the phone and began calling some contacts to see if any of them had heard why Lee would be captured and what they intended to do with him.

Meanwhile, Billy decided to establish a whole new group of agents at the Chess tournament in the morning. If Lee had been taken, it likely meant that those documents were being passed to the Russians tomorrow. Billy wondered if he should have shared the information with Amanda. Lee had been quite determined that she didn't need to know but now that Lee was missing, maybe she did need to know so she would realize to be extra careful. He decided he needed to tell her.

Billy picked up his office phone and dialed Amanda's house. He was relieved that Amanda was the one who answered the phone.

"Hello" she said in her normal cheery voice.

"Hi Mrs. King. It's Billy Melrose."

"Oh Hi Sir. Is there news about Lee?"

"No, unfortunately nothing yet. I felt that I should call you to let you know what Lee found out from his contact last night."

"You mean that TP guy that he was meeting?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, TP has a lot of contacts and knows a lot of what is going on in DC especially when it relates to trouble. He told Lee last night that the top secret documents that outline our entire Nuclear Weapons program have been copied and are being sold to the Russians. There is a very good chance that it is happening tomorrow."

"Oh My Gosh! Is that why they took Lee? He was closing in on them?"

"I think it is highly likely Mrs. King. I need you to be very careful tomorrow. I don't have to tell you how dangerous this is going to be for you and I wish we could pull you but it will set off warning flags. We have to find out who has those documents and stop them and we need to get them back before they fall into Russian hands. I'm going to have extra agents at the tournament tomorrow. Just be really careful, okay?"

"Yes Sir. I will Sir and thank you for telling me Sir" Amanda said. They said goodnight to each other and hung up. Amanda realized that it would have been helpful if she had gotten that training so she would at least know how to hit.

TBC


	26. Chapter 26 - Another Kidnapping

**Chapter 26 - Another Kidnapping**

Amanda dreaded seeing Maurice but she had no choice. She drove to his apartment and parked down the street. She walked to his front door and found him waiting for her outside.

"Hello Amanda! What a beautiful day. The sun is out, the birds are chirping. Why you aren't smiling? Why aren't you smiling Amanda?" Maurice asked.

"I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind. Shall we get going?"

Maurice took her arm and looped it with his as they walked to her car. He helped her into the car and then got into the driver's side himself. Amanda wondered why he was suddenly behaving. She hadn't expected him to. He drove the short distance to the Chess Hall and they walked inside together. Amanda began looking around to see if she could spot the other agents and soon saw several people that she thought looked like agents. Maurice started to head over to get his information for the day but then turned back as an afterthought and handed Amanda a briefcase and asked her if she could look after it for him. She gave him a questioning look and he explained "I was talking to one of the players who lost last night and he wanted to borrow some of my notes and copies of books that I used to perfect my game. He will be by shortly to get the briefcase so if you could just give it to him; that would be great." Amanda nodded in understanding and sat the briefcase at her feet. Maurice continued on his way to the registration table and soon was seated at a chess table with his new opponent. Amanda noticed that this man definitely looked like he was a Russian and she allowed herself to wonder for a moment whether Maurice would be recognized but since he hadn't been this whole time, she decided that he had nothing to worry about.

Steve got up one final time to announce the players. "The 20 finalists all competing for a chance in the semifinals include 4 from Russia, 2 from Japan, 3 Chinese, 3 from Hungary, 2 from Poland, 3 from the United States and 3 from France. Congratulations to everyone for making it this far. Of course only 10 of you can go on to the Semi-finals but please be proud of yourselves for making it this far. I want to also take the time to thank all of you who have come out to cheer on everyone. Finally, I would like to give a round of applause to our Kitchen staff who has kept us fed and taken care of our needs during the games." Everyone clapped in appreciation. Steve then continued "Thank you to all the players for playing a fair game and being supportive of each other. And now without any more delay, please say good morning to your opponents, shake their hands and wish them luck." Steve requested.

All 20 players stood and shook hands and wished each other luck. Some even reached over and congratulated their neighbors. Amanda noted that Maurice was looking straight ahead at something on the far wall. She diverted her gaze to see what he was looking at and noticed a group of 4 men standing by the exit door. Something worried her about this image, she just didn't know why. As soon as they realized that she was looking at them, they quickly separated.

The players had all sat back down and the games started. The morning went smoothly. Amanda kept looking around, still hoping Lee would surface but knew in her heart that he wouldn't. Something bad had happened to him and she only prayed he was still alive.

About an hour after the games started, a young kid approached Amanda and asked her for the briefcase. She didn't recognize him and thought she had seen all the players so she wasn't sure why he didn't look familiar. She asked him what he wanted with the briefcase and he replied "Maurice left me some important papers in that briefcase and told me to come pick it up." Amanda realized that this was indeed the person who was supposed to take the case so she gave him to him. He quickly disappeared into the crowd.

It was soon time for lunch and after giving their lunch orders to their waiter, Amanda noticed that once again, Maurice and his opponent got up and headed for the bathroom. They were gone less than 5 minutes this time though and Amanda wondered if it was because of the group of agents that had been posted around the bathroom area. She sat and watched them as they ate and couldn't help but notice that they seemed to know each other. This was not two strangers, they were in a conversation like they were old friends. The bad feelings that she was experiencing became stronger in observing them and she had decided to go let one of the agents know when suddenly there were gunshots. A group of men dressed up like past Presidents all walked into the Chess hall and fired a few more rounds to make sure they had everyone's attention. They each wore a different mask which included President Carter, President Reagan, President Ford and President Nixon. They were each dressed in a black suit including black pants and black shoes.

The Man who had the President Reagan mask on said "Hello Ladies and Gentleman. So sorry to burst in on your little fun here. We won't take long to get what we want though and leave. Something of ours was taken from us about 5 years ago and it has taken a little while but now we want him back. We won't hurt anyone else as long as you all behave and stay seated while we reclaim him." The man who had the President Nixon mask on walked quickly over to Maurice's table and grabbed him forcefully by the arm and yanked him away from the table. Amanda was in shock. Did this mean that Russia had figured out who Maurice was and had come to reclaim him? It sure looked like it. Meanwhile Maurice looked terrified and had gotten on his knees and was begging to be spared. The man backhanded him and shoved him towards the entrance. President Ford and President Carter than began firing at the agents that were ready to try to protect Maurice. After wounding several of them, the kidnappers all ran out the door. Amanda bolted from her seat and ran out the door after them. First she had lost Lee and now it looked like she was going to lose Maurice too. All the bad feelings towards Maurice were pushed aside as she worried about him having to face the Russians that he defected from. She jumped into her car and gave chase behind the kidnappers. So much for having a boring day.

TBC


	27. Chapter 27 - Learning to Tail a Car

**Chapter 27 - Don't Lose the Car You are Tailing**

Amanda wished that she had more agency training so she would know how to tail someone the proper way but her instincts told her to stay close enough so she didn't lose them while giving them enough distance so they didn't know that they were being tailed. She couldn't help but wonder if she would find Lee when they got to wherever they were taking poor Maurice. The car she was following headed to the outskirts of the city and soon pulled into a parking lot of a rundown apartment building. The area was all dark with no streetlights. Amanda realized that she should have called for backup but there just wouldn't have been time. As she sat in the dark with her lights off, she noticed that when the men got out of the car, none of them were wearing masks now. Maurice was no longer being handled. He not only got out on his own but was joking around with the others. What was going on? Did they just stage the whole thing? Amanda shook her head as she tried to comprehend what she was witnessing. Why would they do that and what was Maurice up to? She needed to get closer to see if she could hear what they were saying. She quietly opened her car door and climbed out of the seat and then closed the door as quietly as possible. She began walking to the building while keeping a lookout in case anyone was guarding the place. All of the men who had been in the getaway car had gone inside. She approached the building without anyone noticing her and went up to a window so she could look in. As she peered inside, she saw that they were all standing right in the room so she quickly ducked down and then tried to hear what they were saying.

"That was almost too easy" Maurice said. "Those Americans are just too dumb. What perfect timing to have a chess tournament just as I finally got those military guys to show me where they kept those documents. Those idiots trusted me so much that they couldn't wait to brag about their Nuclear Weapons program and show the information to me. It took a while to build up that trust but once I had it, they would have given me anything I wanted."

"You did good Boss. I still couldn't believe the day the Lieutenant brought you into the vault and showed them to you. If I hadn't been there, I would have said you made it all up. Then it just took a phone call to pull him away long enough for you to take pictures and here we are. You are my inspiration Boss." One of the men said.

Did the kid deliver the briefcase yet?" Maurice asked

"Not yet but he should be here soon. I told Anton to go pick him up since Mr. Stetson wasn't going anywhere with those ropes tied that tight." The man who answered laughed an evil laugh as he spoke. Amanda felt Goosebumps on her arms. Lee was here somewhere and tied up. She still couldn't figure out why they had gone to all this trouble and why was Maurice with them?

"Yes, it was pretty clever of me to have Amanda hand off the briefcase to the kid. She had no idea she was giving out her own country's nuclear weapons secrets. My only regret is that I didn't grab her to take her with me. She is a very desirable woman and she kept pushing me away. I still am tempted to go grab her and bring her to Russia with me. She would be a lot of fun to tame and then when I was done with her, I could easily make some good money selling her." Maurice said.

Amanda couldn't believe what she was hearing. So Maurice was going back to Russia and he was the one who had stolen the Nuclear Weapons documents. Now it was beginning to make sense. It made her sick to her stomach that she had been right that he intended to force her to have sex with him. She hadn't liked this man since the moment she met him. Her instincts were usually right and she should have trusted them more. Where was Lee? If only she had had time to call for backup. She was in way over her head and now it was too late to call. She didn't even really know where she was so the agency wouldn't be able to find their way here anyway. No, it looked like she was on her own and the first thing she needed to do was to find Lee.

Amanda quietly left her hiding place and inched around the other side of the building. She found a back door that was way away from the room where the men were talking and found that it was unlocked. She quietly stepped inside and let her eyes get used to the dimly lit entranceway. She then began making her way inside the building and found a set of stairs leading downstairs. It would make sense for them to hide him in the basement so she decided to check it out. She quietly made her way down the stairs with her heart thumping in her chest the whole time. She had been in bad spots with Lee before but this time she was all on her own, at least until she found him. She just hoped he would still be alive.

TBC


	28. Chapter 28 - Preparing to Die

**Chapter 28 - Preparing to Die**

Lee had been left alone for several hours now and he still had made little progress with getting the ropes that held his hands tied to the headboard loosened. He had been working on them the whole time but since he was spread-eagled on the bed, he couldn't use his hands together and had to work the knots with just one hand which was nearly impossible. If he could have gotten a hand loose enough to pull something from his shirt's collar to help him, that would have solved the problem too but these people knew what to expect and made sure he wasn't going anywhere. He wondered what they planned to do with him. Would they just kill him here or would they take him to Russia to try to get information out of him. If he was taken to Russia, he at least had a chance but if they decided to just shoot him in this bed, well he knew they had won. There was nothing he could do to save himself. It was during a time like this that he wondered if he shouldn't have been so stubborn about not having a partner. If he had a partner yesterday, he would have been watching his back and would have either stopped them or at least tailed them to this hideout. He hadn't wanted a partner though because at least this time, he didn't have to remember that his partner died for him. This time, if anyone was dying, it would just be him and well he wouldn't exactly be leaving anyone behind. No, it was better this way. Having a partner just made things complicated. For instance, if Amanda was his true partner, she could be in the middle of all of this and be in extreme danger. Hopefully they were leaving her alone because her family needed her and they would miss her. He wondered if his death would finally get her to quit the agency. She didn't belong there and no one else would protect her like he had been doing. Some protection he was being right now all tied up with no chance of going anywhere.

Lee heard some car doors outside. They were muffled and it was only because the building was so quiet that he could hear them. He wondered if that meant that Anton was back and perhaps Maurice was with him. Well he was a spy and a good one and if they were going to kill him, he was ready. He would take whatever they dished out to him and they wouldn't be able to get any information from him. That was his reputation and he would die to keep it. Maybe someday he would be written about in history books as a hero. Did he hear footsteps on the stairs? Okay, Scarecrow. It's time to face whatever is going to happen. He put on his determined face and glared at the door. As it opened, he clamped his mouth shut and prepared himself for what was to happen. As the person stepped inside the room, Lee said in astonishment "Amanda!?"

TBC


	29. Chapter 29 - The Rescue

**Chapter 29 - The Rescue**

Amanda had inched down the stairs while trying to be as quiet as possible so that the men upstairs didn't hear her. When she got to the foot of the stairs, there was a closed door in front of her. She quietly opened the door and stepped into the room and heard Lee say "Amanda!?"

"Shhhhhhhh, Lee. The bad guys are just upstairs and they will hear you. Oh my Gosh, I can't believe you are still alive." she gushed quietly.

"Well are you going to untie me?" Lee asked impatiently.

"Oh, yes, of course, hang on." Amanda quickly went to see if she could untie the knots. Thankfully they were simple knots and she soon had both his wrists free and began working on his ankles.

"Oh Amanda, I can't believe you found me. How did you find me?" Lee asked.

"It's a long story Lee but Maurice is really working for the Russians. He faked wanting to defect."

"I know, his buddy Anton told me when I woke up. Amanda, Maurice did that so he could steal our Governments secret records of all our nuclear weapons and where they are located. It looks like Anton went to pick up the documents for the Nuclear weapons. Any idea if Maurice was able to make the trade?"

"Yeah. I know all about it. Billy told me what TP had told you. Unfortunately the documents were picked up and are on their way here." Amanda said as she hung her head.

"Amanda? What makes you so sure and what's wrong?" Lee asked.

"He used me to hand off the documents but I didn't know that was what they were. It was a briefcase and when I asked him what it was, he told me that it was Chess notes and that he had made copies to give to a losing player. He told me that the player would come to me during the game for the briefcase and he had made it sound so innocent so I had no idea that it contained the documents. I would have never given up the briefcase if I had known and would have given it to one of the other agents that Billy had posted at the Chess Hall." Amanda rambled.

"Amanda, calm down. I know you wouldn't have given them up if you had known. We just need to get them back now. First, we need to get out of here. Can you lead me out the way you came in?"

"I should be able to. Do you have your circulation back so you can walk?" Amanda asked.

"I will make myself walk. Let's go." Lee urged. They carefully tip toed up the stairs. Amanda had grabbed Lee's hand so that they stayed together. When they reached the top of the staircase, Amanda quietly opened the door and could hear them all talking still in another room. She quietly led Lee outside and he asked her how she got there. "My car is just down the street" Amanda replied.

"Good, I want you to go to your car and go call for backup." Lee said.

"What are you going to do?" Amanda asked.

"I'm going to make sure none of them leave and try to figure out a plan to stop them. I first have to find out if they have gotten the briefcase yet or not. Now hurry up and call the agency."

"I think I should stay with you."

"Amanda, please. Just this once, please listen to me. We are in danger here. We need Billy to know where we are so he can send help. These guys mean business. Now please hurry and when you get back, STAY IN THE CAR!"

Amanda sighed and hurried to her car. She didn't like leaving him alone there but she knew he was right, they needed backup. She still didn't know where she was though so she slid into her car and started it and then slowly backed up without turning on her headlights until she reached the side street. Then she turned her car around and headed back in the direction she had originally came. She made note of each of the side street names as she passed them and then finally came out on a main road. She saw a gas station in the distance and drove over to see if they had a payphone. She was in luck and they did so she jumped out and called the Agency. She asked to be put through to Billy and soon he was on the phone. She quickly told Billy what was going on then told him the street names that would lead him to the building where these men were. He thanked her and told her to wait for them. He was dispatching agents immediately and should be there in about 40 minutes.

Amanda didn't promise to wait though because she was really worried about Lee being there alone. She hurried back to her car and drove back to the building and pulled off in the same place she had originally. She had just shut off her car when a blue sedan inched past her and pulled into the building's parking lot. A man got out along with the kid that she had passed the briefcase too. He motioned to the kid who reached behind the driver's seat and pulled out the briefcase. As they started to walk toward the building, a piece of dust floated by Amanda and caused her to sneeze. The man immediately shoved the kid to the ground, pulled out his gun along with a flashlight and shone it in her direction. She tried to duck down in the car but he spotted her. He walked over to her car and said "Why Mrs. King. So good to have you join us. I think Maurice will be thrilled to see you. Come quietly with me." He opened her door and motioned for her to get out while telling her to keep her hands where he could see them. As he pushed her to get her moving across the parking lot, she muttered "Oh boy."

TBC


	30. Chapter 30 - No One Touches Amanda

**Chapter 30 - No One Touches Amanda**

Anton shoved Amanda into the room and brought her over to stand in front of Maurice. Maurice's face lit up when he saw her.

"Why Amanda, how kind of you to come to me. I had wanted to invite you to the party but there wasn't time and now you have decided to invite yourself." Maurice ran a finger across Amanda's cheek as she moved her head trying to avoid the contact.

"Oh dear sweet, naïve Amanda. You like saying no but I know you really want to say yes. You will, in time. I have a way with women and I know you will eventually come to respect all I can do for you. That boyfriend of yours will be a forgotten memory."

"Maurice, I am not interested in you. We already had that discussion. Now the agency is going to be here any minute and you will be totally surrounded so if I was you, I would simply get into your cars and drive away before they arrive."

Maurice burst out laughing. "I love your spunk. You are going to be so much fun to tame. In fact, I'll bet it will be more fun than a bucking bronco during the county fair. Yes my dear Amanda, I have big plans for you and me; but first I must finish up my business here. You understand that you aren't my first priority, of course. Please have a seat on the couch. Maurice pushed Amanda down onto the couch.

Meanwhile the kid who had the briefcase was nervously shifting from foot to foot and finally cleared his throat. "Ummm, Sir, I brought the briefcase like you asked. I should really be going so if you would just pay me, I will be on my way."

Maurice looked at his men and started laughing. "Oh Stanley, why would you want to leave so soon? This party is just getting started. Don't you want to stay to watch the grand finale?"

"I'm sorry Sir but my Mother is expecting me and she worries if I'm late so can I please get my payment so I can leave?" Stanley begged.

"Stanley, it seems that you are as naïve as my Little Amanda here. I can't just let you go after you were a witness to all of this. Now you have a choice, you can either come back to Russia with us where I will find you a nice job in a potato factory or you can go swimming with the fishes in the nearby river. It is up to you really. I like giving people choices." Maurice smiled with a smug look on his face.

"You mean that you aren't going to let me go home to my family?" Stanley asked.

"Wow, you catch on quick kid. Doesn't he fellas?" Maurice asked as the others nodded their heads in agreement. "Now why don't you have a seat next to Mrs. King and be quiet because I'm tired of listening to you."

Stanley's face had turned white and he sat down next to Amanda.

"Now fellas, let's finish what we started, shall we? Nickov is our transportation on the way?"

"Yes Boss. I talked to Alexi a short while ago and he assured me that the limo that would bring us to the private airport had been sent and would arrive in about an hour."

"Good. Anton, how is our guest downstairs? We still need to take care of him too, don't we?" Maurice reminded them.

One of the men who hadn't talked much suddenly spoke up and asked "What are we going to do with him Boss?"

"Now Leonid, you know that we can't take him with us. As much as it might be nice to get more information out of him, I doubt he will talk so he will just slow us down. Would you like the honors of taking care of him? Maurice asked him.

"No, I didn't sign on to kill anyone. It was one thing to steal the player's list and make sure that you got to play against your fellow comrades but I draw the line at killing someone."

"Oh, Leonid, you did a great job at stacking the games so that I could make sure I won each of them. Well except the woman in the beginning. However did you mess that up?"

"I'm sorry Boss. Her name was Dani. I didn't know they named girls Dani here."

"Yeah you idiot. She doesn't spell her name like me" The male Danny said.

"Knock it off guys. It all turned out okay. She had a beautiful body. I would have liked to have had more time to explore it. I didn't want Amanda to get too jealous though."

"So can we see the documents Boss?" Danny asked.

"Sure, just don't touch them." Maurice said as he opened the briefcase and spread all the plans on top of dining room table.

While they were busy, Amanda was trying to figure out if Lee was around. She hadn't seen him since she had left to call the Agency. She spent some time looking around to try to figure out a way to escape but there were too many of them and not enough exits. She noticed that Stanley didn't look very good. She wondered how he had managed to get involved in all of this. The men finished gloating over the documents and placed them back into the briefcase.

"Okay, so since Leonid doesn't want the honors, Nickolv, can you please go downstairs and put a bullet into Mr. Stetson's head so we don't have to be concerned about him anymore?"

"Sure Boss." Nicklov said as he headed to the back room where the stairs were. In less than a minute he was back and out of breathe. "He's gone."

"What? What do you mean gone?" Maurice asked?

"His ropes are all untied and on the bed. He's not in there." Nicklov explained.

Maurice looked at Amanda and an evil grin went across his face. "Oh, so Mrs. King, it appears that you have been here a little longer than we thought, yes?" He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her body so it was in front of him with her back against his chest. He draped his hand down in front of her chest while pulling his gun out of his pants and placing it against the back of her head. He then began talking loudly to make sure Lee could hear him. "Oh, Amanda, you smell really nice. That perfume of yours is turning me on. There's no telling what it might cause me to do. I might touch you on your arm." He then proceeded to take his hand and stroked it up and down Amanda's arm. "Or I might find myself using my hand to brush back your hair so I can kiss your neck." He then demonstrated as Amanda squirmed to get loose. "Yes, You are definitely mighty tasty. Perhaps I shouldn't wait until I get you back to Russia. Maybe we should start your lessons right here, right now." Amanda continued to squirm to try to get loose from his grip.

Lee had heard enough and as much as he knew that this was a ploy to get him out of hiding, he couldn't stand by and let this man violate Amanda. "Give it up Victor. You know you will never leave here alive if you harm Amanda. She is an innocent civilian in all of this."

"Oh Lee, is that you? I had no idea you were spying on my fun with Amanda. She seems to be enjoying my touch. Perhaps you would like to step out and watch me kiss her? Surely you must have thought about how beautiful she is and how desirable she is and maybe you want her for yourself? Too bad I got to her first. I'll let you watch though if you like. I'm sure with all her energy, she will be sure to give a good show and you can see what you should have claimed before me. Maybe there will even be some leftovers when I'm done with her."

"You are a pig" Lee said as he stepped out from behind an Armoire and shot Victor in the chest. As Maurice hit the floor, the other men immediately took out their guns and began shooting at Lee who dove under a nearby desk. Soon there were guns blasting from all corners and Amanda grabbed Stanley and hid behind the couch with him. Lee had emptied 2 clips without succeeding in taking any of the rest of them down when suddenly there was more gunfire all around him and he realized that the agency had shown up. Soon, 3 of the men had suffered gunshots and Billy told the rest to drop their weapons if they wanted to live another day. Guns were thrown into the middle of the floor and the men came out with their hands up. Lee and the others quickly cuffed them and Lee let the agents escort them out to the patrol car that was waiting outside. The rest of the agents began a search of the building to make sure it was secure. In a bedroom upstairs, they found Victor's Journal that he had kept describing his plans and how they were to work. They quickly bagged it and sent it back to the agency for analysis and review.

As soon as the coast was clear, Amanda stepped out from behind the couch with Stanley and found herself being hugged by Lee. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Lee asked.

"I'm okay. A little shaken but okay. Thanks for saving me from him."

"You are welcome Amanda." Lee realized that others were watching so he let Amanda go.

"Oh and Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"The next time you have an assignment that involves a man who can't keep his hands to himself, can you please give that assignment to Francine?"

Lee looked at Amanda for a moment and said "yeah" Then they both started laughing.

"Billy, I think you are after this." Lee said as he handed him the briefcase after scooping all the papers up and putting them back inside.

"Thanks Lee. Great job both of you!" Billy said. Billy then headed out the door to his waiting limo.

"Agent Cubby, Please take Stanley down for questioning too. He played a part in all of this also." Lee requested.

Stanley's face turned even more white from hearing that. Amanda went over to him and told him to tell the truth and that maybe if he helped put these bad men away, the agency would be able to work a lighter sentence for him. He nodded and thanked her as they led him away.

"Well Amanda, I'm afraid we need to go to the agency for debriefing. Do you feel up to it?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, let's get it out of the way. It can't be any more boring than watching people play chess."

"Oh I don't know, chess no longer seems like a boring sport to me, does it to you?" Lee asked.

"No and I never realized how dangerous of a sport it is either." Amanda giggled as they both walked out to her car.

TBC


	31. Chapter 31 - The Debriefing

**Chapter 31 - Debriefing**

Billy was speaking to Amanda and Lee while Francine sat and listened. "So Victor faked his defection back 5 years ago with the intent to come to this country and find something of value to bring back to Russia. In the process, he managed to make himself out a victim to every high ranking official he met, including President Reagan and came across so truthful that they began to let their guard down in front of him especially after he single handedly pointed out 15 Russian spies within the CIA's Organization. He purposely manipulated them all in hopes of a big score though he didn't know what that would be until the idiots decided to tell him one day about the Nuclear Weapons documents and decided to show them to him. Obviously, we have some huge holes to fix in our Government Security teams and I'm sure President Reagan will agree with this and authorize the man power and money to begin plugging those holes. So the Man already had the documents when he found out that the Chess tournament was being held here in DC and contacted his Russian people to let them know. We checked it out and sure enough, the Russian players joined the games only about a month ago. Then they stole the player list, changed the players so that Maurice or rather Victor would be playing against his comrades and sat back waiting for the last day so they could stage his kidnapping which would leave him a victim and leave the door open in case he wanted to come back later and gather anything else. Did I get everything?"

"Yes, and it almost worked too" Lee said.

"Yeah, if Lee hadn't listened in on their bathroom conversation, we might not have ever figured it out that it was Victor who had stolen the Nuclear Weapons Documents" Amanda offered.

"Actually they might have gotten away with it if TP hadn't told me what was happening. Amanda how did you find me anyway?" Lee asked.

"When they kidnapped Maurice, I mean Victor; I had no idea it wasn't a real kidnapping and I actually felt sorry for him so I tailed him." Amanda explained.

"You tailed him? But Amanda, you don't know how to tail anyone." Lee said.

"Well I just used my instincts and tailed them. They were so busy gloating that they had gotten away with it that they must not have ever looked to see if they were being tailed. Maybe once I have training on how to hit, I can get training on how to properly tail someone."

Billy smiled and said "I'm sure we can arrange something soon Amanda."

Francine had sat listening to this whole exchange silently and finally couldn't stand it. "Well Amanda Dear, I would say that it was more luck than anything else that all worked out for you. After all, it must be nice to have Lee, the shining knight on the White Horse coming running to your rescue all the time while the seasoned agent like myself; must work at saving myself.

Lee looked nervously at Amanda because she hadn't told them how she had saved Lee from being tied up in the bed. He had been grateful that she had left out that part. He jumped in quickly and said "Can it Francine."

Billy quickly tried to stop the trouble that he could see brewing by asking Amanda "How did Stanley get involved in all of this?"

Amanda answered "His family is poor and he was standing outside a Temp agency looking for work when Anton approached him and offered a quick job that would make him a bunch of money quickly. He's just a kid so he didn't question why he would get $1,000 just for picking up a briefcase and delivering it. I feel bad for him. Sir, will they put him in jail?"

"No, they have already agreed to drop all the charges because Stanley agreed to testify his part in all of this. They won't even put it on his record that he was arrested."

"Oh, that's good sir. Well I guess if we are done here, I should get going. My family is going to be wondering where I am." Amanda said.

"Mrs. King, thanks again for all your help. You did a great job. I'm sorry about what happened with Victor. Lee said that he didn't hurt you though."

"No, Lee stopped him. Thank you Sir."

Amanda got up to walk out and Lee said "I'll walk out with you Amanda and make sure you make it to your car okay."

"Alright" She said, pleased that he would care. As they began walking, Lee said "You know, Victor will pay for what he did. Our Operatives have already spread the word back to Russia that he double-crossed them. It seems that the word on the street was that he played Russia for a fool and actually stole the documents so he could sell them to the highest bidder. He would have gotten away with it too but at the last minute the scheme blew up in his face and he was captured by the CIA. So if he ever gets out of jail and wants to go back to Russia, he is going to be met by some people who are going to be a little upset with him for double-crossing them. We will make sure he knows that he doesn't have a home to go back to and let him stew about it. I'm sure he is going to want to stay in jail considering the alternatives. Meanwhile I'm told that the bullet I put into him did some muscle damage to his shoulder so he will likely be disabled too for the rest of his life. It doesn't make up for what he did to you Amanda, but he has to live with it the rest of his life. "

"It couldn't happen to a nicer guy, I would say." Amanda said with a giggle. "I agree" Lee laughed with her.

"What about the rest of them?" Amanda asked.

"Well we were able to catch the pilot who was going to fly them back to Russia and we confiscated his plane. We also nabbed the limo driver who was coming to pick them all up. I would say with Stanley's help, none of them will be seeing outside a jail cell for at least 20 years." Lee informed her.

"That is good news." Amanda said relieved.

"Yeah" Lee responded as he walked her to her car. He suddenly stopped and said "Can we stop and talk for a second?"

"Sure" Amanda said. "What about?"

Lee licked his lips nervously. "About what happened at the apartment building; I mean, you know that I had those ropes almost off but I really appreciate that you helped get them off me faster. I wanted to say thank you and to thank you for leaving that part out of your report."

Amanda knew that Lee knew that there was no way he was almost out of those ropes but she knew he also had a reputation and she wasn't going to be the one that tarnished it in any way. "Oh you are welcome Lee. I know if you had just had 5 more minutes, you would have been free, that's why I didn't see the need to mention it."

"Yeah" Lee answered. "Thanks."

"Lee, there is something bothering me though."

"What is it?" Lee asked nervously.

"What happened to Agent Brown? Has there been any word about him?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that part. Lee answered relieved that this was her question. "Well it seems that they were hoping to get more information out of him so he was dragged outside and left in the alley right after you left him. He woke up but was suffering from a partial amnesia so he went to the hospital but couldn't tell them who he was or how he got hurt. He just contacted the agency today to let us know that he had recovered and was okay. He should be back to work on Monday" Lee explained.

"Oh My Gosh! I'm so happy he is still alive." Amanda gushed. "So I guess that pretty much wraps up our case."

"You mean my case." Lee said.

"No, it was definitely our case." Amanda disagreed.

"Amanda! It was my case. I just brought you along to help out with Maurice."

"Lee, I'm pretty sure you needed my help on this one."

"I was doing okay without you Amanda. Remember, I don't work with partners."

"Would it really kill you to say that I helped you? I put up with a lot in this case. I would just like to hear one time that you appreciated my help." Amanda said.

Lee smiled and said "Fine, The Queen helped the King capture the Pawn. Are you happy now?"

Amanda smiled back and said "Yes, except I really don't like Chess anymore."

They both laughed at the joke just as they arrived at her car. He opened the door for her.

"So what's next? Any new cases?" Amanda asked.

Lee said "No, nothing yet. I'm sure you will be happy to get back to your family and leave all this behind. Dan will seem like a saint now compared to Victor."

"Dean" Amanda said.

"Who" Lee asked.

"Dean, his name is Dean." Amanda reminded him. "Well call me if you need me."

"I'm sure we are all set for a while Amanda. Take care." Lee said as he shut her door and watched her drive off. He shook his head as she drove away. She was definitely like no woman he had ever met. With no training, she had stood up to Victor and his treatment of her as well as Francine would have if she had been there. Someday she might even make a good agent. She sure had saved his tail on this one but he sure wasn't going to admit that. There was still time for her to get off this crazy roller coaster ride and he felt it was his duty to continue to encourage her to jump off. Yet, deep down, he knew he would miss her if she wasn't a part of it anymore. Lee walked back to the agency and realized that he really needed some rest. He was obviously very overtired and it was affecting his thinking.

TBC


	32. Chapter 32 - Meeting the President

**Chapter 32 - President Reagan**

A few days later, Lee was invited to have lunch with President Reagan who wanted to express his gratitude for keeping the Nuclear Weapons plans out of the hands of the Russians. Lee was a little intimidated with the thought of meeting the President and having lunch with him but Billy insisted that he go since this would look good for the whole department.

Lee shined his shoes like his Uncle had taught him so many years ago, put on his favorite black Tux and headed to the White House. It wasn't every day that someone like him got to meet the President of the United States. When he arrived, the security checked his id and then waved him through. He was greeted by a Valet who took his car while another Security Guard offered to walk him into the dining room where the President and the First Lady were waiting for him.

"Come in Mr. Stetson" President Reagan said.

"Please call me Lee, Mr. President." Lee offered.

"Okay" The President said with a smile. "This is my wonderful wife Nancy and you can call me Ron today. I would suggest not calling me that after today cause you know how these people can be about their politically correct stuff."

"okay Mr. Pres...Ummm I mean Ron."

"Well Lee, I hear that both our Country and I owe you a world of thanks for stopping Victor. He was such a nice man too. Do you know that every time I saw him, he would bring me a bag of jelly beans? They were called Jelly Bellies and he knew I liked the licorice ones the best so he would get me just those. He was always so kind to me and Nancy. I should have realized not to trust someone who was from Russia but I fell for all the victim talk. Anyway, we are in your debt for stopping him and stopping what would have been a catastrophe if the Russians had gotten their hands on our whole Nuclear Weapons program complete with locations. I'm afraid I can't offer much more than thanks but wanted to treat you to a lunch served by my chef. I hope you like Macaroni and Cheese because it is my favorite and he does a great job with it."

"That Sounds really good Mr, Ummm, I mean Ron."

Lee sat back and enjoyed his lunch with the President and the First Lady but he couldn't help but think that Amanda should have been there. He hated to admit it to anyone but if she hadn't helped him, he would probably be dead right now and those documents would be in Russia's hands. Someday he would have to figure out a way to thank her. In the meantime, he decided that being a Suburban Housewife, she likely didn't want to meet anyone important like the President and his wife. After all, she liked her quiet life and some things were better left alone. He decided that he wouldn't tell her about this luncheon and that would insure that she didn't get her feelings hurt that she wasn't invited. If only he could shut Francine up. He would have to use some past information against her. He knew just how to shut Francine up. There was that time that Francine was involved with the Janitor from Unisource. She sure didn't want that story getting out. In the meantime, Lee was enjoying the lunch but he had to wonder if Amanda's Macaroni and Cheese was better.

TBC


	33. Chapter 33 - TAG

**Chapter 33 - Tag**

"Oh Amanda, you are home. That's great Dear. Did your friend win the Chess tournament? I saw a news brief at lunchtime on Channel 4 and they said there was a kidnapping. How dreadful? Are you okay? Did they catch who did it?" Dotty asked.

"Yes they caught the group who did it. I'm fine. My friend did not win and it turns out that he is a poor sport so I'm glad he didn't move on to the Semi-finals." Amanda said with a smile. "I think I'll go take a shower. It's been a long day."

"Okay Darling but before you do, you might want to look at the mail first. I think there's something special for you."

"What is it Mother?" Amanda asked.

"Go look for yourself" Her Mother answered.

Amanda went to the kitchen counter to look at the mail and saw a letter from Penny. She smiled seeing it and sat down on one of the barstools to read it.

"My Dear Amanda.

How I miss you already. Our trip to Florida was definitely a lot less exciting than my time with you at Bo's Ranch. Disneyworld was amazing. I remembered going once as a kid but haven't been back since. Reza and I both felt like kids again going on all the rides. It was so nice to see him so relaxed and back to his old self. We had the best time and stayed there 3 days just so we could relax. He has promised me that we are going to whisk you away to Zakir next spring so you can come visit, all expenses paid. You can bring your whole family with you. It will be so nice to see you and to show you my new country. I won't take no for an answer and you know how insistent I can be. I promise you won't have to ride any horses while you are here though.

Amanda, I want you to know how much you mean to me. I didn't have a lot of friends growing up and I find myself with very isolated here in Zakir. We have known each for such a short period of time but I really consider you one of my best friends now. I hope you will stay in touch. It would be nice to know what is going on in your world since I'm so far away in mine. Plus, I need to know how the romance between you and Mr. Stetson is going. Don't forget that I expect an invitation to the wedding.

Be well Amanda and write when you find time. I hope your foot is nearly mended and you are free from your cast. You are a great friend.

Fondly,

Penny

p.s. I went looking for a sexy nightgown in Florida but decided your advice on not having one might be better. You are a very wise woman Amanda and I'm sure Mr. Stetson will agree. "

Amanda couldn't help but smile as she read Penny's letter. She was so happy that Reza and Penny seemed to be back on track with their relationship too. It was too bad that she had to deceive Penny about her relationship with Lee but it was better that she not know that she was part of the agency. After all, she was one of them and that meant she couldn't tell anyone.

Amanda got up from the barstool and limped over to where her dieffenbachia plant sat and was thrilled to see that it had new growth on it and seemed to be doing well. She had been worried that it would die while she was gone. It just might make it after all. Amanda was going to take a shower but decided that she should write Penny now while it was fresh on her mind. She grabbed a tablet and pen from her desk and went back into the kitchen so she could sit at the kitchen table. Along the way, she reflected on the fact that she should be getting this stupid cast off soon. She couldn't wait as she was tired of it. It was nice of Penny to mention it.

"Dear Penny,

It was so nice to hear from you and to hear how much fun you and Reza had at Disneyworld. I'm so happy for you both and glad you took my advice. Sadly, it didn't save my marriage but if it helps to save yours, than it is worth it. I hope now that things have settled down, that you and Reza can just be yourselves now and then and enjoy some of life. It is never good if you forget each other along the way and that is how divorce happens. Be kind to yourself Penny and take good care of Reza. He is a good man and I know he loves you very much.

We would love to come visit you in Zakir. I know my Mother would love to be able to tell her neighbors that she traveled to stay with a Prince and Princess. It would make her day to be able to brag about such an opportunity. We would just need to wait until the boys are on School break.

As for Mr. Stetson and I, well it is complicated and maybe one day I can tell you but for now, I struggle to understand myself. His line of work puts him into the line of danger all the time and well you know, I have my boys and I have to think about them first always. Maybe someday I will be ready to be married again but Mr. Stetson and I live in two different worlds and he is very much out of my league. There is definitely no romance there. I don't even know when I will see him again. It isn't like he ever asks me out on a date or takes me any place where I need to get dressed up. In fact, most of the time, we just argue.

Well the boys will be home from school soon. Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away and it will be busy in the King Household while we prepare for it. I wish you lived closer so you could join us but I'm thankful that I met you. I have a doctor's appointment in a couple of days and he has promised to take the cast off. I'm so relieved because it is stressful enough to prepare for Thanksgiving without having to deal with a cast too. Thanks for thinking of me.

Take care of yourself Penny.

Fondly,

Amanda

p.s. The other advice I have for you is to never go to bed angry with each other. When you find the right man, marriage is worth fighting for.

Amanda put her pen down and folded the letter. She placed it in an envelope and put a stamp onto it before she changed her mind about any of it. She wondered if she should have mentioned Dean to Penny. No, Dean was definitely not a subject she wanted to talk to Penny about. No, it was better that Penny believe that Lee was having an affair with her. Imagine Lee Stetson falling in love with someone like her. That would be the day. Amanda laughed as she put the letter near the front door so she could mail it and then headed up to have her shower.

And the Adventure Continues with Service Above and Beyond.

Thanks to everyone who read this and patiently waited for the chapters to be posted. You are the best. I hope you enjoyed it. The next one will of course be a Thanksgiving Tale. SMK only skirted around Thanksgiving so it needs to be an In Between Story for sure. What trouble can Lee and Amanda get into for Thanksgiving? You will have to wait to find out.


End file.
